Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad
by PA Boi
Summary: Set 2 years after 513, Justin has moved back to Pittsburgh area and he and Brian are established partners. Life is full of changes. There will be multiple chapters and additional characters. I don't own the characters Just the situations.
1. Chapter 1

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

On a sunny afternoon in May, Justin was painting in his studio at their home in rural Pennsylvania. They had sold the West Virginia property after Justin moved to New York. The commute from the city was just too long for Brian. A year ago they bought this property south of Washington, PA. The house sat on 15 acres of mostly wooded property. Ten Mile Creek flowed thru their property and fed a small pond visible from the house. The house itself required complete renovation before they could move in. By the time Justin moved back from New York the renovations were completed. Justin's studio was part of an addition at the rear of the house. The first floor was the pool house, with storage, bathrooms & dressing rooms. The second floor was the studio built to Justin's specifications. It could be accessed from the second floor hallway and also from the back stairway. Justin's cell phone rang, a quick look at the display showed the call was coming from the Kinnetik office. Justin answered "Hey stud, what's up, as if I didn't know" after a quick laugh Cynthia, the office manager, replied "Sorry to disappoint you Justin, this is Cynthia". Justin could feel his cheeks get warm as he blushed although he knew Cynthia was not shocked by his comments. "Cynthia, sorry. What can I do for you?" "How was Brian feeling over the weekend?". Justin frowned as he answered, "He had a cold but you know Brian. He refused to rest or take care of himself. I asked him how he felt this morning and he said fine". "Well I went in his office a few minutes ago and he was lying on the couch with his arm over his eyes. He has been in a foul mood all day, even for Brian!. His eyes are glassy and as soon as he sat up he started to cough. I think he has the flu. You know he always refuses the flu shot even though we give them here at the office". Justin sighed and shook his head "He is the most stubborn person I know and he hates being sick. I am going to get some stuff together here and then I'll drive up to Kinnetik. Thanks for calling and please don't let him leave until I get there".

Justin quickly cleaned his brushes and went down to the kitchen. Alice Simpson, their housekeeper, was having lunch at the kitchen table with her husband Charlie who took care of the property. They lived in the caretaker's cottage a short distance from the main house. The Simpsons' owned a farm a short distance from the house, Brian and Justin often stopped there for produce. One weekend shortly before Justin moved back Mrs. Simpson mentioned they were turning over the farm to their eldest son and his family and going to take an apartment in Glyde. Brian offered them the jobs as housekeeper and caretaker on the spot. After thinking about it for a couple days, they accepted. "Justin, are you ready for lunch? I can fix you something and bring it up to the studio if you are painting." "Thanks Alice but Cynthia just called me to say she thinks Brian has the flu. I am going to go up there and check things out. If Brian really is as sick as she thinks, I am going to take him to the loft. We'll be closer to the doctor and stores there. Would you please get the ice chest out of the garage and load it up with some of your chicken & vegetable soups that we have frozen?" Alice got up from the table. "Charlie, bring that ice chest in for me. Justin, what else do you need us to get ready for you". "Thanks Alice but I am going to change and pack some comfortable clothes for Brian and some extra sheets. I'll stop at Giant Eagle on my way to Kinnetic and get some other supplies. Cynthia is going to make sure Brian stays put at the office." On his way upstairs his cell rang again "Hi, this is Justin" "Justin, this is Ted. I just had Brian sign some documents for me. I think he is really sick. His hand felt hot as he handed the papers to me and his eyes are kind of glassy. From the look of his trash can, I think he has gone thru about 3 boxes of Kleenex already." "Cynthia called me a few minutes ago. I am getting ready to head up to Kinnetic. Do me a favor and block the Corvette with your car. I don't want him leaving before I get there. If Brian finds out and threatens to fire you, tell him I will rehire you at twice your salary." Ted laughed "I'll take care of it, let me know if you need anything else." "Thanks Ted."

30 minutes later Justin was loading grocery bags in the back of his SUV and heading for Kinnetik. Less than an hour after the call from Cynthia, Justin walked into the Kinnetic office. He asked the receptionist to let Cynthia & Ted know he was in the building. Justin tried the knob to Brian's office and was surprised it was locked. Luckily he had brought his Kinnetic badge which he ran thru the slot beside the door. He went thru the unlocked door. Brian was lying on the couch but sat up quickly, ready to blast whoever came into office without at least knocking. Sitting up so quickly brought on a coughing fit and it was a couple moment before he could say anything. "Justin! What are you doing here!" "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by to see you." "Bullshit! Who the fuck called you? Cynthia or Theodore. Whoever it was will be looking for a new job." "Actually it was both of them who were worried about you. If you fire them, I will hire them back at twice their salary. So that is not a good plan". Brian gave him a disgusted look that Justin ignored. He walked over to Brian and felt his forehead before Brian could twist away from him. "Brian you have a fever and you look like shit. Your breathing sounds like a coffee maker. I think you have the flu." "I just have a cold, didn't sleep too well last night so I thought I'd grab a quick nap before driving home." "I think we need to call the doctor and stay at the loft. That way we'll be closer to the doctor, stores & the family" "I am fine, you go home and I'll just finish a couple things here and head home." "OK, how about we take you temperature. If your fever is lower than 101, you get to do things your way. If it is over 101 you have to do what I want" "I don't have a thermometer here in my office." Justin reached into his pocket and brought out a brand new digital thermometer he had just bought. He opened the package, turned it on and handed it to Brian. The brunet cleared his throat, managed a quick cough and headed towards his desk. "No fair drinking ice water. Put the thermometer in your mouth now!" Brian saw the look on Justin's face and stuck the thermometer under his tongue. Meanwhile Justin sat down at Brian's desk and started to save any active files on the computer before he shut it down. Brian grunted at him. "I am saving everything that you have open." The thermometer beeped and Justin was quickly at his partner's side. He looked at the reading and smiled "Just as I thought 102.3! We are leaving for the loft now." Brian had a look of disgust on his face but he knew better than to argue with Justin. "OK, I'll meet you there in about an hour." "Nope! Your precious Corvette will be perfectly safe in the garage here. We are leaving now and you are riding with me to the loft. Your laptop is shut down so put it in your case, along with anything else you need and let's go." Brian sighed dramatically but did as he was told. While Brian gathered his paperwork, his better half called the doctor's office and gave the nurse a rundown of Brian's symptoms. As they left his office Brian gave a dirty look to Cynthia & Ted who were standing by his assistant's desk. Justin gave them a smile. "Thanks again for the calls. We are headed over to the loft. If he has any appointments for Monday I think you should reschedule those just to be safe." "Justin! I will be back in the office on Monday, don't get carried away with yourself" "You will be back in the office when you are feeling better and not before. Don't be such a butthead!" An extremely annoyed Brain followed the blonde to his SUV parked in front of the building.

Shortly after they got into the car Brian's cell rang. It was a return call from his doctor, he grunted some answers while giving Justin as annoyed look. "Body pains? My main problem is a persistent pain in the ass. OK, seriously I do feel kind of achy." Justin just shook his head and told Brian to have any prescriptions called into Liberty Drugs. Brain ended the call, closed his eyes and reclined his seat. He would never admit it but he felt horrible and before Justin showed up he was wondering how he would be able to drive home feeling as bad as he did. A few minutes later they were pulling into the parking lot at the loft. Brian sat up, grabbed his briefcase and did his best not to groan as he got out of the car. Justin grabbed his rolling duffle out of the back of the car and led the way to the elevator. Once in the loft Brian dropped his briefcase and headed to the bedroom. Justin unzipped the duffle and got out a cotton T shirt & boxers, he took them into the bedroom. "I brought you some comfortable stuff for you to wear." He threw the clothes at Brian and went into the bathroom, a couple second later he emerged with the blow dryer in his hand. He went over to bed, plugged in the dryer and pulled back the top sheet before turning the hair dryer on. Brian looked over at him in amazement. "Sunshine, what the fuck are you doing?" "My Mom always did this for Molly & me when we were sick. It makes the sheets all warm and cozy. We always said that Mom enjoyed us being sick. She could give full reign to all her maternal instincts and overwhelm us with attention." Brian just shook his head and climbed into bed, he hated to admit it but the warm sheets felt great. Justin gave him a smile and headed for the kitchen, he was back in a minute with Aspirin and a bottle of water. "Take these and relax while I get the rest of the stuff I brought out of the car."

Once he had brought all his supplies up to the loft, Justin heated some of the chicken soup he brought. He put some Ritz crackers on a plate and poured a glass of ginger ale, both of which he bought at the Giant Eagle on his way to Kinnetik. He remembered Debbie telling him a story about Brain & Michael both getting sick with a stomach virus at her house. She and Vic had to keep them supplied with Pepsi and saltines for Michael and Ginger Ale & Ritz crackers for Brian. He poured the hot soup in a large mug, put it on a tray table with the soda and crackers and took it into the bedroom. Brian was laying there with his eyes closed. "Hey Brain, you need to eat something. Here's some of Alice's chicken soup with some crackers and soda." Brian sat up, when he spotted the ginger ale & Rita crackers he got a puzzled look on his face. "Sunshine, when did you ever see me drink ginger ale?" Justin laughed. "Never but a little bird told me that ginger ale & Ritz are your favored foods when you are sick." "I think it was probably a not so little bird named Debbie." Justin laughed. "Be a good boy and eat your soup and crackers, I'm going to call the drug store and see if they can deliver your prescriptions". The pharmacy said they would send them right over. Justin told them to call on the house phone downstairs and he would buzz them up. Justin checked on Brian who had finished his soup and crackers and was lying with his eyes closed. "Bri, try not to go to sleep yet. Your medicine will be here soon and I want you to start on that right away." "Justin you are being just a little annoying, just how long does this "do as I say" bet continue?" Justin laughed. "My opinion is that I am in charge around here until you are over this bout with the flu, so get used to it." Brian just gave him a disgusted look before closing his eyes again.

Just then the phone rang. Justin went over and pushed the code to open the lower level door. 'Wow the guy must have run all the way from Liberty Drugs, he must expect a big tip" He slid open the loft door and stepped outside. He was shocked when the elevator opened and Brian's sister, Claire, walked out. "Claire! What are you doing here?" "I need to talk with Brian. I called his office and they said he left for the day. I thought I would try here before driving all the way down to his house." "Brain is sick in bed, what do you want." "He's sick? Does he have AIDS?" Justin was horrified. "Why would you say that about your own brother! He has the flu. I was waiting for a delivery from the drug store which is why I buzzed you in. Just what do you want?" Claire shrugged. "With his life style I don't think that was too off base. I need to talk to him about the roof on my mother's house. It needs to be repaired and it is going to cost $25,000.00." "That seems like a lot of money to replace a not very large roof but just why do you think Brian will care about your mother's roof?" "Well mother doesn't have that kind of money and neither do I. I'm sure it will be a drop in the bucket for Brain. She needs him to pay for it." "Why would Brian pay all that money for your mother's roof. He paid off the 3 mortgages on the house when your father died. Joan can get a home equity loan or a reverse mortgage to pay for the roof." Claire started for the door but Justin blocked the way. "I want to talk to my brother. This is a FAMILY matter and doesn't really concern you. I'm sure Brian will still have enough money to buy you whatever you want." "Brian is sick in bed and I will not let you disturb him. We are a couple and what concerns Brian, concerns me. I'll let Brian know about the roof but I don't think you should count on any money from us. You and your mother act like Brian doesn't exist until you need money. I think it is time the Bank of Brian closed out your accounts. Now get out of here." Claire tried to push past Justin but was surprised that he was stronger than he looked. Justin shoved her towards the elevator door. "Get the fuck out of here and DO NOT come back. You and your mother are disgusting. GET OUT NOW!" Claire didn't want to admit it but the look on Justin's face frightened her. Justin went into the loft and slammed the door shut. Brian was standing by the door to the bedroom. "Did I hear Claire's voice?" "Brian get back into bed right now. Yes that was your extremely annoying sister. Apparently Joan has a roof leak and Claire wants you to pay 25 fucking thousand dollars for a new roof. That is such a crock of bullshit. A new roof on that house would never cost that much. I really, really hope you won't even consider giving those 2 bitches any more money. They don't care about you and it is time you cut them loose until they decide to treat you better. You are such an awesome person and they are nothing. I told you to get back into bed" Brian chuckled as he climbed back into bed. "That does seem like a lot of money for a new roof. Seems to me that one of the mortgages Jack had on the house was for a new roof shortly before he died. Don't worry Sunshine we are not going to pay for Joan's roof if you don't want us to." Justin couldn't help smiling at Brian talking of them as a couple. The phone rang again and this time Justin asked who was there before buzzing the delivery guy in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

**Chapter 2**

Justin paid the delivery guy and took the 2 prescriptions into the kitchen. He carefully read the instructions took a pill out of one bottle, grabbed a spoon for the cough syrup and went into Brian. "Bri, sit up and take this pill and a spoonful of cough syrup. The cough syrup has codeine so that should help you sleep." Brian swallowed the pill, took the cough medicine, made an unhappy face and took a big drink of his ginger ale. Justin fluffed Brian's pillows and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Such a good boy to take his medicine. Sleep tight, feel better, I love you." Brain's cell rang and Justin answered it, thinking it might be Claire. "Hi doctor." "Yes we just got the prescriptions. Brain has had some chicken soup and he took some aspirin along with the stuff you prescribed. OK, I will keep an eye on him. Thanks for calling." Justin shut off the phone. Brian looked over at him. "Well... what did he say?" "The doctor said that if your fever goes over 103 or you start to have trouble breathing I should call an ambulance and take you to the emergency room and call him. He said the flu is nothing to fool around with. Let's take your temperature again." Justin was pleased that Brian's temp was now below 102. He turned down the bedroom lights and Brain fell asleep almost immediately. Justin cleaned up the kitchen, made sure the door was locked and the alarm was set. He went into the bedroom and got in his side of the bed. He listened to Brian's breathing for a while before he drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Justin was jolted awake by the bed shaking. He sat up and saw Brian half on the bed and half on the floor. "Brain what happened." "I'm fine, I just stood up a little too fast and got dizzy. Go back to sleep!" Justin was out of bed and around to Brian's side without saying anything. "Let me help you, what were you trying to do?" "I have to take a piss and I've been doing that on my own for quite some time. Go back to sleep." "Let me help you up." Justin took hold of Brian's arm and helped him stand. Brain started to the bathroom but was still a little wobbly. Justin took Brian's arm and put it around his shoulders. "Just lean against me." Brian grunted in disgust but found he really did feel more steady leaning against Justin. Once they were in the bathroom Justin started to pull down Brian's boxers. "I think you should sit down." "Sunshine, I am NOT a lesbian, I do not sit down to pee." "Brian, I love you but you are not feeling too steady and while I want to help you any way I can, I would rather not have to clean urine off the bathroom floor at 1 AM." After another grunt of disgust Brian finished pulling down his shorts and sat on the toilet. Justin went back into the bedroom and switched on a light. He felt the sheets on Brian's side of the bed and found them damp & clammy. Back in the bathroom Brian announced he was done. Justin went back in and felt Brian's T shirt, which like the sheets was pretty damp. He started to run some warm water in the sink and grabbed a wash cloth & towel. "Brian, you are all sweaty. Let me give you a quick wash and then you can put on a clean shirt and boxers." Justin squeezed some of Brian's shower gel onto a wet washcloth and gave Brian a quick washing before he got him clean clothes. He carried a chair into the bedroom and told Brian to sit there while he changed the sheets. After giving the new sheets a quick warm up, he helped Brian back into bed. He decided this was a good time to give Brian his next dose of medicine and a couple more aspirin. He made sure Brian's pillows were fluffed and he was covered up before he switched off the light and got back into his side of the bed. "Thanks Sunshine for taking such good care of me." "Brian, I love you and I'm happy to take care of you. I think it must be a Taylor family trait, this need to care for the sick." Brian gave a little laugh and took Justin's hand under the covers. "I love you too."

The next time Justin woke up the sun was shining. He was snuggled against Brian who didn't seem to be too feverish. He slid out of bed, gathered up the dirty sheets, clothes, towel & wash cloth. He started the coffee maker before he loaded & started the washer. When he walked back into the bedroom, Brian was sitting up leaning against the headboard of the bed. Justin went over, adjusted his pillows and gave him the thermometer to put in his mouth. He was pleased that Brian's fever had not gone up and was staying around 101. "What would you like for breakfast?" "Not too hungry. How about juice, toast & coffee." "Coming right up, do you need help getting to the bathroom?" "I think I am good." Brian stood up carefully but had no trouble walking into the bathroom. Justin assembled Brian's breakfast and toasted a bagel for himself. He cut up an orange for Brian and once he spread cream cheese on his bagel he put everything on a tray and took it into the bedroom. Brian lifted his eyebrows at the orange but seeing the determined look on his partner's face he ate it without comment. After breakfast it was medicine time. "How are you feeling Brian?" "Better than yesterday but still really achy and even though I got a good night's sleep I still feel tired. Eating breakfast kind of wore me out. Also my feet are really cold." Justin took the dirty dishes out to the kitchen. He emptied some body lotion into a bowl and gave it a quick microwave to warm it up. Back in the bedroom he got a pair of Brian's cashmere socks from the bureau. "Let's see if we can fix the cold feet." He pulled the covers off Brian and put a clean towel under his feet. Justin gave them a good massage with the warm lotion before he slipped on the cashmere socks. "Is that better." "Sunshine, that was great. You really are spoiling me. I know it sound stupid but I think I'm ready for a nap." Justin covered him back up and readjusted his pillows. "Have a good nap. Let me know if you need anything."

While Brian slept, Justin loaded the breakfast things into the dishwasher, switched the clothes to the dryer then folded them and put them away. He spent some time sketching the sleeping Brian. He was heating up some soup for lunch when Brian appeared in the kitchen. "I'm tired of being in bed. I want to eat lunch here at the table." "Okay but let me get you some sweat pants to put on. You still have a fever so you need to stay warm." Justin was pleased by the big bowl of soup that Brain ate for lunch. He also got him to eat another orange and some juice. Brian checked his email, answered the most urgent and then allowed Justin to coerce him back into bed. He read a book for about 15 minutes before drifting off to sleep again. When he woke up he got washed in the bathroom while Justin changed the sheets again. Brian came out to the living room and watched some TV while Justin made a salad and heated soup for dinner. Justin was pleased that Brian's temperature was now under 100. Before bed Brian got another foot massage and managed to sleep through the night.

Justin was woken up Sunday morning by the delightful feeling of Brian sucking his dick. He raised the covers and looked down at Brian. "So I guess you are feeling better today." Brian took a minute to smile up at Justin, who shimmed down to lay beside Brian. Now in a perfect 69 position, it was a very pleasant way for them to start the day. A joint shower allowed for a couple more blow jobs before breakfast. Justin was just putting an egg white omelet on a plate when Brian walked into the kitchen. "Perfect timing, glad you are feeling better but you still have a slight fever and are still pretty congested so no overdoing today. OK?" "So first you temp me into morning sex and NOW you tell me not to overdo. " Justin laughed as he sat down at the table with his breakfast. "I tempted you? Seems to me that I was the one that was awakened by someone's mouth on my dick." Brian just smirked. After a leisurely breakfast, Brian spent the morning on the couch, wrapped in an afghan, watching the morning news programs. Justin cleaned up the kitchen, checked his emails, spent some time texting with Daphne and fine tuning his Brain sleeping sketches. When his phone rang he checked the display before answering. "Hi Mom." "He is feeling much better today and his fever is down" "Yes Mother, I have already told him not to overdo and no he is not going back to work tomorrow." Brian was listening to Justin's side of the conversation and added his own comment. "I may go into the office for at least part of the day tomorrow." Justin frowned. "Brian that is just stupid. You need to be sure you are really well before going to work." Brian ignored him. "OK Mom, see you."

After disconnecting with his mother Justin joined Brain on the couch. "Brian, you are not serious about going into the office tomorrow are you?" "Sunshine, you have been so great and I really appreciate it and you know how much I love you. But, I am a grown man and I can decide when I am well enough to go back to work" Justin got up and moved to a chair with his sketch pad. "You can be a very annoying person. I will not be happy if you endanger your health by going back to work too soon. It's time for you to take your medicine" "Justin come back over here." The lack of any response let Brian know he was in trouble. Except for the TV and the scratch of Justin's pencil, silence reigned.

When the house phone rang Justin went over and answered, he punched in the code to unlock the lower entry door and went over to the loft door. A few minutes later he opened the door for his mother. Jennifer handed her son a bag and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Hi Justin, I brought you some lemon bars from the diner." She crossed the room and gave a surprised Brian a kiss on the forehead. "Brian, Honey you still have a little fever. How are you feeling." "I'm feeling pretty good, how do you know I still have a fever." Jennifer laughed. "Oh Honey, a mother's lips are a better fever detector than any thermometer. You need to stay home from work until you have a full day of no fever. The flu is nothing to fool around with. If you don't take care of yourself you could wind up with pneumonia." Brian gave Justin a dirty look. "Don't look at me Mr. Kinney. You heard my whole conversation with my mom. I didn't know she was coming over here." Jennifer put a cool hand on Brian's cheek. "I just showed a house not far from here. I heard you say that you might go in the office tomorrow. Sweetheart, that is just not the correct thing to do. I'm just concerned about you and don't want you to endanger your health." "Mother Taylor, I appreciate your concern but as I told your son, I am a grown man and I know when I am ready to go back to work." Jennifer gave Justin a look before turning back to Brian. "Brian! Obviously you do NOT know when you are ready to go back to work. It is time to go back to work when you have been fever free for a full day and not before! I love you and I'm concerned about you and if you go to Kinnetik tomorrow I swear I will come down to your office and drag you back here by your ear. Do I make myself perfectly clear!" Brian turned away so Jennifer didn't see the tears forming in his eyes. Growing up he did not have many chances to encounter "mothering" from anyone and he was surprised and touched by Jennifer's concern for him. She stood in front of him waiting for a reply and reluctantly he nodded agreement. That earned him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you honey. Not that I don't trust you but I will be calling Cynthia tomorrow to make sure you stayed home. I'm sure she knows better than to lie to someone's mother or even a mother in law." Jennifer lingered a little longer but satisfied her work was done she left for home.

Once Jennifer was gone, Justin came back over and sat on the couch leaning against Brian. "Imagine growing up with that. She can be tough." Brian smiled and put his arm around Justin's shoulders. Justin gave him a quick kiss. "About time for lunch, let me get that started."

By Tuesday night Brian decided he would go back to work the next day. Justin agreed and even Jennifer gave her OK.

Late Wednesday morning Brian got an unwelcome visit from Claire. She barged into his office just as he finished a meeting with his art director. "Brian I need to talk to you." The art director beat a hasty retreat and closed the office door on his way out. "What do you want Claire?" "Did that boy tell you about mother's roof." "Yes, Justin told me and I believe he told you that we were not going to pay for her new roof." Claire walked over to his desk. "Brian the leak has already stained the ceiling in my old room. The roof has to be fixed!." "Sister dear, I give our mother a monthly stipend of $3,000 precisely to avoid these begging visits. $25,000 is a ridiculous price for a roof on that house but whatever the price, Joan will have to find a way to pay for it herself." "Brian.." "Claire, get the fuck out of my office and the fuck out of my building or I will have security escort you out." Claire stormed out of Kinnetik. She paused on the sidewalk out front and considered her next step. A few minutes later she smiled, got in her car and drove to her mother's parish church.

Brian had lunch at the diner. Debbie came over to his booth with a big smile on her face. "Good to see you back, feeling better?" "I am feeling fine. Had a great morning which included a visit from my sister." Deb laughed and sat down across from Brian. "Did you know she sold her house? From what I hear it was just in time to avoid the bank foreclosing. She is living down in Mount Lebanon with some trust fund guy who has been in & out of drug rehab for years." Brian was surprised by the news. "Wow! Do you think Claire might be using?" Deb got up and shrugged. "Now that she is all the way down there is the South hills I don't hear much about her. The boyfriend's family made their money in banking. I understand they are not really thrilled about him moving Claire and the boys into the house they are letting him use. Your usual lunch today?" Brian nodded and considered Debbie's new about his sister while he waited for his lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

**Chapter 3**

Brian left Kinnetik early on his first day back after recovering from the flu. It had been fun to stay at the loft for the last few days with Justin but he was glad to be going back to the house. This was their home. He pulled into the garage and was happy to see Justin's SUV parked in its normal spot. Their housekeeper, Alice Simpson, was in the kitchen and told him that Justin was working in his studio.

Brian went up the back stairs to Justin's studio, he was surprised to see that instead of painting Justin was sitting at his work table with several large book propped up in front of him along with his laptop.

Justin looked up when he heard the door open, and gave his partner one of his most radiant sunshine smiles. "Brian! What are you doing home so early." Justin hurried over toward Brian. "Justin, GOOD SUIT!" "It's okay Brian, I'm dry. I haven't actually painted anything since this morning."

Once Brian knew his Armani suit was not in danger of being paint stained he opened his arms and when Justin threw himself against him, Brian gave him a bear hug. "You feel good Sunshine and you seem pretty happy. What is an artist who hasn't been painting so happy about?"

Justin stretched up to deliver a kiss to Brian's lips. "Charlotte called this morning and she got this incredible offer today for a chance to paint some murals. The budget for the project is $200,000." "What is this incredible offer that your amazing agent called you about?"

"Brian it is really cool. PPG Place is redecorating their lobbies and they want to commission four murals, one for each lobby. They are inviting four artists to present their ideas for the murals and a sample of their work." Justin walked over to his work table and grabbed one of the books he had propped up there. "My idea is to use the murals to present the history of Pittsburgh. I went out and bought these books and have been checking out ideas for things to include in my murals. There are so many great places and things to include: the bridges, the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt, Heinz Hall, the Heinz pickle sign, the Civic Arena, the steel plants, the Allegheny General Tower and that is just the beginning. I have to get them in some chronological order before I decide what I can include and start to sketch out the murals."

Brian couldn't help smiling at Justin's enthusiasm. "You sure are excited about the possibility of a commission, how will you act if they actually pick you." Justin gave Brian a stern look. "Brian, they have to give me this job. I AM Pittsburgh, I just know this is going to work out." "Well Sunshine, I know you will be the most talented person presenting so I agree, you are bound to get the job."

Brian headed for the Master bedroom to change with a very excited Justin walking with him. He never stopped talking about the PPG Place murals. There was going to be a big write up about the artist contest in the Sunday paper and in 2 weeks the four artists will present to a committee. The publicity will be worth more than the actual amount paid for the murals, although $200,000 wasn't exactly poverty wages. Brian couldn't help being caught up in Justin's excitement and he could tell that his "Sunshine" was just warming up. Justin would be talking about this for the at least the rest of tonight. Brian was grateful for anything that made Justin so happy and he knew the celebration sex they would have later tonight would be amazing and that put a big smile on Brian's face.

Brian woke up the next morning, shortly before the alarm went off, with a blonde head nestled on his shoulder and an arm, not his own, resting on his stomach. He found his feelings of love and contentment almost overwhelming. Brian ran his fingers through Justin's soft blonde hair causing his partner to wake up and smile. "Morning Sunshine." Brian reached over and shut off his alarm before it went off.

Justin stretched and sat up in bed. "I'm sorry I was so manic about the PPG murals yesterday. I know I might not get this commission, I was just excited about the possibilities." Brian sat up and pulled Justin close to him. "I believe that you will get the commission and become an even greater sensation on the Pittsburgh art scene. And now that you are awake earlier than usual how about joining me for a shower, which may include me sticking my dick in your ass." Justin was out of bed and starting the water in the shower almost as soon as Brian made his suggestion.

Brian arrived at Kinnetik a little later than usual. There was a pile of phone messages on his desk and Ted was waiting to go over some financial report. "Good morning Brian, do you still want to do the financial review this morning or do you want to wait until later." "Let's get it over with now Theodore." A moment later Brian's admin, Carole, brought in his morning cup of coffee and Cynthia, now the office Manager, placed some ad slicks on his desk. "You need to review these before your meeting this afternoon."

Forty five minutes later, Carole buzzed Brian. "Brian, there is a Father Bolton here to see you. He doesn't have an appointment and I told him you are busy. He asked me to let you know he is from Good Shepherd parish."

Ted was gathering his reports while Brian replied. "I have a few minutes, send him in." As Ted exited the office he passed the priest going in. Father Bolton was a tall, muscular man who looked more like a football player than a priest. He walked confidently over to Brian and stuck out his hand. "Hello Mr. Kinney, thank you for seeing me without an appointment." Brian shook his hand. "Please call me Brian. I only have a few minutes free. Please have a seat."

Father Bolton settled into one of the chairs arranged by the couch and Brian sat in the opposite chair. "I appreciate you are a busy man Brian. The reason I came here today is that I had a visit from your sister Claire yesterday." Brian pursed his lips. "You have my sympathies. I also had one of those visits yesterday."

The priest looked puzzled for a moment. "I understand that you and your family are estranged. Your sister seems quite concerned about some needed roof repairs at your mother's home. Of course you know your mother is a long time parishioner. I have only been at Good Shepherd for a little over a year and I don't know your mother well but Claire made this roof situation seem so urgent I agreed to come and talk with you. I wasn't aware that she had already met with you."

Brian gazed at the priest and tried to figure out his motives. "My mother and sister don't approve of me because I am homosexual. We have really never been close and I have no fond memories of life in my parents' house. When my father died a few years ago, there were 3 mortgages on their house. The total amount of the mortgages exceeded the value of the house. I paid off those mortgages and agreed to give my mother a monthly stipend of $3,000. I did that to avoid visits from my family begging for money. I am sure Claire told you that I have a boy living with me and that I spend money on him that I should be spending on my mother."

Father Bolton smiled. "Well, you may not be in close contact with your sister but it seems you understand her really well." "Yes Father, I do understand Claire and that scares me sometimes. The boy she refers to is someone I have known for almost 8 years. We are life partners and business partners. The boy is actually an exceptionally talented artist named Justin Taylor who I love very much and who makes me extremely happy. I know that violates the rules of your church and suspect it shocks you but that is who I am."

"I am pretty hard to shock Brian. The church does not accept homosexuality but I believe that all love comes from God. You seem very sincere about your love for Justin so as a man I think you are lucky to share love with someone. Of course, as a priest I have to tell you that you should pray for a cure." Father Bolton smiled at Brian.

"All love is a gift from God, I like that! To be honest, Justin & I both think this roof thing is some scam Claire is trying to run. She claims that Joan's house needs a new roof and that this new roof will cost $25,000." Bolton whistled "That seems like a lot of money for a roof. As I said I am not very close to your mother. I believe she was quite fond of the priest I replaced. I have tried to get her interested in some of the activities at the parish but she seems to only enjoy coming to daily Mass. I appreciate how open you have been with me. I will try and see what I can find out about the roof repair. A friend of mine is a fund raiser for the Vic Grassi House. I attended a fund raiser there where Justin had donated one of his paintings for auction, it was amazing. I have been admiring the paintings here in your office and I suspect they are Taylor originals."

Brian smiled. "You have excellent taste, especially for a priest. Vic was a close friend to both Justin and I. Now I really do have some business duties I have to attend to."

Father Bolton thanked Brian again for his time and his honesty and left. Brian sat for a few minutes thinking about their conversation before he went over to his desk to begin preparations for his upcoming presentation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

**Chapter 4**

When Father Bolton got back to the rectory he called Kaminski Roofing, run by a husband & wife who were Good Shepherd parishioners. After a few moments of pleasantries with Violet Kaminski, her husband Stosh came on the phone. "Hi Stosh, this is Father Matt. I'm hoping you could do me a favor." Stosh Kaminski laughed. "Well I guess, since you are a priest, this won't involve anything illegal. Or if it is illegal, you can absolve me in confession." Father Bolton grimaced but let the joke he had heard a million times go by without comment. "Do you know Mrs. Kinney, she is long time parishioner here." "Sure Father, I know Joan Kinney. She lives a couple blocks from my parents' house."

"Her daughter, Claire, came to see me yesterday. She said her mother needs a new roof and it will cost $25,000 and her mother can't afford to pay for the new roof" "Father! $25,000 for a new rook on the Kinney house. That's just crazy. The houses in that block are not very big and they have a simple roof, no dormers, no skylights. My mother always said they sold those houses as 3 bedrooms but they are really only 2 and half bedrooms. That price is way out of line. Actually I think we put a new roof on that house a couple years before old man Kinney died. Has to be about 10 or 11 years ago. It was before our youngest, Emil, was born." Violet walked over to her husband's desk and handed him a couple sheets of paper. "Father, Violet just pulled some info out of her computer. She has entered most of our customer info into a database. My Dad and I put a new roof on the Kinney house 11 years ago. We ripped off a couple layers of old shingles and even replaced some sheathing. No way the roof would need replacing this soon."

Sitting in the rectory Father Bolton shook his head. He hated getting into the middle of family squabbles. "Stosh, do you think you could stop by and see Joan and take a look at her roof. I would really appreciate it." "No problem Father. I wouldn't want it to get around the neighborhood that Kaminskis didn't do good roof work. Sounds like Claire is trying to run a scam. Word in the neighborhood is that she has hooked up with a druggie. I bet she wanted you to get Brian to pay for the roof. I've known her for years and she is a real piece of work. Been jealous of Brian's success for years."

After a quick thank you, Father Bolton hung up. Stash & Violet took a drive over to Joan Kinney's house. What they found was that a limb from a tree in her back yard had been allowed to lay on the roof. When the wind blew the limb scrapped over the roof and had lifted a few shingles. Stosh estimated the repair cost being under $1,000.

Carole buzzed Brian. "I have a Stosh Kaminski on the phone asking to talk to you." Brian told her to put him through. "Hi Stosh, been a long time." "Brian, it has been a long time. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Claire is trying to run some kind of scam. She has a proposal to replace your Mom's roof. I was just at your Mom's house and a tree limb lifted some shingles and it's an easy repair. I wanted to be sure you didn't give Claire any money. Word in the neighborhood is that she might be using. Her new boyfriend is a druggie." "Did my mother call you about the roof?" "No Brian, Father Matt from the church told me Claire had been to see him. I figured she was trying to get him to hit you up for the money." Brian thanked Stosh and hung up.

Brian called Ted and asked him to look into any programs that Father Bolton had started at Good Shepherd. He wanted something where sexual orientation of the participants would not be an issue. Ted was used to interesting requests from Brian but this was one of the strangest.

When Brian got home Alice was in the kitchen. "Hi Brian, the pool people were here today and opened the pool. They have the heater on and Charlie has the solar cover on the pool, he thinks it will be warm enough by tomorrow evening to use. Justin has been in his studio all day. I took him a sandwich up at lunch time. There is a spinach salad in the fridge along with some steaks in a marinade. You just need to stick those under the broiler when you are ready to eat." Brian thanked her for the info and she headed out to the caretakers' cottage.

Brian went upstairs to the master suite and changed out of his suit and went from there to Justin's studio. As Brian came into the studio Justin quickly stopped massaging his right hand. Brian laughed. "Not quite fast enough Sunshine. Looks like you have been working your hand too hard today." Justin just got a guilty look and said nothing. Brian walked over to the daybed in the room and motioned for Justin to join him. Brian was sprawled with his legs widely spread. This allowed Justin to assume one of his favorite positions, nestled between Brian's legs while leaning back against his chest. Brian took Justin's right hand and started to massage it.

Justin sighed in contentment. "That feels awesome. Thanks but please no lecture. I'm really excited about this PPG project and I'm anxious to get my ideas down on paper." Brian continued to massage his partner's hand. "OK, no lectures but promise me you'll pace yourself tomorrow. Alice told me you have been up here in the studio all day." Justin grimaced. "OK, but promise that I still get a hand massage when you get home. Even if my hand isn't cramping tomorrow." "OK, but promise to give me a blow job after the hand massages." Justin giggled but agreed. Brian found himself thinking that Justin was the most adorable person in the world. His next thought was how he could possibly have such a lesbionic thought.

As Brian continued the hand massage, Justin leaned back harder against him. "Brian, that feels so great. I love you so much." Before he could stop himself Brian gently kissed the side of Justin's head and replied. "Almost as much as I love you Sunshine." Justin leaned forward and turned to look at his lover, a million watt sunshine smile on his face. Brian had an embarrassed expression on his face. "Those words just came out before I could stop them." Justin leaned in and kissed Brian and then slowly moved his mouth down Brian's body until he was in position to deliver the promised blow job.

Afterwards Justin lay in a very satisfied Brian's arms. Both men were content to lie there, just enjoying being together. That feeling lasted until Justin's stomach growled loudly. Laughing they made their way down to the kitchen for dinner. Justin got the steaks into the broiler while Brian put the dressing on the salad and opened a bottle of wine. "I had an interesting day at the office today." Justin looked over at him. "Interesting good or interesting bad?" Brian told him about his visit from Father Bolton and his phone call from Stosh Kaminski as they ate their food.

Justin was amazed by Brian's story. "How could Claire think we would just give her $25,000 without checking anything out?" Brian just shrugged. "Justin, I have no idea how my sister's mind works and I really don't even want to try and figure it out." "How did the roofer guy even know to call you?" Brian smiled. "The roofer guy, whose name is Stosh which is a Polish nickname for Stanley, grew up down the street from Joan's house. He was a year ahead of me in school. He's a nice guy and we were kind of friendly when my family first moved into the neighborhood but he liked Mikey not at all. So once I started hanging out with Mikey, Stosh and I spent less time together. He was at Penn State for a year before I got there. We'd see each other around campus when I was a freshman. He left after his second year to work with his dad in his roofing company and marry his high school sweetheart. He and Debbie both have heard about Claire being involved with some trust fund drug addict. Maybe he came up with this scheme to get extra money"

Justin gathered their dirty dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. "Well I guess Claire might need money to buy drugs or maybe she wants to get away from the boyfriend and needs money for that." Brain sipped his wine. "Let's just hope that my sister looks for an alternate funding source and we don't have to deal with her again."

The next morning after morning mass, Joan Kinney waited outside the rectory door for Father Bolton. " Mrs Kinney, what can I do for you this morning." "I'd like to talk to you Father if you have a few minutes." Father Bolton opened the rectory door and showed Joan in his office. "Would you like something to drink?" Joan shook her head. "I understand from Stosh Kaminski that you told him about my roof leak. I want to know how you knew that my roof had leaked. I am a private person Father and I do not appreciate anyone interfering in my personal affairs." Father Bolton found himself disliking this aloof woman sitting across the desk from him and fought against the feeling. "Your daughter, Claire, came to see me a couple days ago. She told me that you needed $25,000 for a new roof and that neither of you had the money to pay for the roof. She said that her brother was estranged from the family and that he had plenty of money. Claire asked me to go to see Brian and ask him to pay for your roof." Joan was shocked by the revelation of Claire's visit. "Claire came here? You didn't go to see Brian did you!" "Yes Mrs Kinney. I did go and see Brian at his office. He agreed to see me without any appointment and we had a very nice conversation. We both thought that price was out of line for putting a new roof on your house. Brian remembered that your husband had your roof replaced a couple years before he died, so I call Stosh and asked him to take a look at your roof."

Joan sat back in her chair and quiet for a few moments. "I suppose Brian told you about his life style." "Yes, Brian told me that he is gay. He also told me he had paid off the mortgages on your house after his father died and that he continued to give you financial assistance."

Joan face was flushed. "I'm sure Brian spends more money on that boy he lives with than he gives me." "Mrs Kinney, your son lives with Justin Taylor. He is much younger than Brian but can hardly be called a boy. Justin is a fairly well know, very talented artist and I suspect he is able to pay his own way. I believe they have been together for a number of years and Brian seemed to me to be very committed to their relationship." Joan was not pleased by the priest's attitude. "Surely you cannot condone my son's sinful life style. The scriptures tell us that what he is doing is against the laws of God." "Actually Mrs Kinney, although I am aware that the church does not accept homosexual relationships there is nothing in the New Testament that condemns homosexuality. I am always a little surprised when so called Christians use those Old Testament quotes to argue against homosexuality. I prefer to follow Jesus's own teachings that caution us against judging others and leaving that judgment to our heavenly Father. None of us are without sin, Mrs Kinney, so we should not be throwing stones"

Joan stood up, her face bright red now. "I will continue to pray for my son and hope he will start to live a normal life. I would appreciate it if you stay out of my family relationships." Father Bolton remained calm but also stood. "When I was growing up my parents always told me and my siblings that we could always tell them everything we did or didn't do because nothing would ever stop them from loving us." "I do love my son which is why I will continue to pray for him even though I cannot accept his life style choices. If he decides to repent his sins I will be happy to resume a relationship with him." Father Bolton smiled sadly and shook his head. "I'm afraid that you and I have very different definitions of love. I pity you. Please excuse me, I feel the need to call my parents and tell them how grateful I that I am their son and how much I love them." Joan grabbed her purse and rushed out of the rectory slamming the door on her way out. Father Bolton walked over and opened the window he felt like he needed to let some fresh air into the room. He sat down at his desk and dialed his parents' phone number.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

**Chapter 5**

Brian woke up with a blonde head nestled on his shoulder and an arm lying across his stomach. This was his favorite way to start his day. A few minutes later the alarm went off which caused Justin to groan, roll away from Brian and bury his head under a pillow. Brian turned off the alarm, gave his partner a smack on the bottom and headed into the bathroom. When he was dressed for work and ready to leave, he lifted the pillow and gave Justin a quick kiss good bye. He interpreted Justin's grunt response as have a nice day.

An hour after Brian left the house, Justin dragged himself out of bed, took a shower, got dressed and headed down to the kitchen where Alice Simpson was waiting to cook his breakfast. Eventually he made his way up to his studio. As he checked emails, he cursed after reading one from his agent. He called his mother and arranged to meet her for lunch at the diner. Next he called Brian at Kinnetik.

"Hey Sunshine, happy to know you are finally awake." "Well I live for your happiness Mr Kinney. That means one of us is happy this morning. I got an email from my agent to tell me there will be a write up of the PPG mural project in the Sunday Pittsburgh Press."

Brian sat back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. "Why does that make you unhappy? Shouldn't free publicity be a good thing?" Justin sighed. "They are naming the four artists that have been asked to present. So three of us are going to be labeled losers when the chosen artist is named." "So the other three guys will feel bad, why should that bother you?"

Justin was annoyed. "Brian! You know that any of the four of us could be chosen. I am having lunch with my mother at the diner, so I can let her & Debbie know about this before they read it in the paper. I sent Daphne an email and I'll call Emmett. You should call Michael to let him know. His feeling will be hurt if he reads it in the paper. Let Ted & Cynthia know, everyone else can find out from the article. I hate this!"

"Sunshine, I genuinely believe they will choose you to do the murals. I think you might be over-reacting just a little." Justin's reply was to hang up. Brian smiled and thought, no one can queen out like my Sunshine.

He called Michael at his comic book store. As usual Michael complained about not seeing Brian enough and missing him. In a moment of weakness Brian invited Michael & Ben to the house for a barbeque the next day. He regretted the invitation as soon as the words were out of his mouth and dreaded telling Justin when he was so worked up over this PPG article.

When Justin told his mother & Debbie about the PPG presentation and the article in the paper, they were just as convinced as Brian that he was sure to be chosen. Justin knew they all meant well but he still found their attitude annoying. All he could think about was that everyone who read the Pittsburgh newspaper would that someone else was chosen to paint the PPG murals if he wasn't chosen. Justin was sure that something like that would spread thru the art community and damage the reputation he was trying hard to build. He couldn't believe that all the prospective artists were being named in the article, how could anyone have thought that was a good idea.

Justin was getting ready to leave when Emmett came into the diner. "Baby! I haven't seen you in forever." He rushed over and gathered Justin into a hug. "You can't leave now; we have to have a visit for at least a couple minutes."

Justin laughed. "I'm glad to see you Em, I was going to call you later but let's sit down and have our visit." Debbie came over to take Emmett's lunch order. Than Justin explained to his friend about the newspaper article and how he couldn't believe they were revealing the artists names.

Emmett wisely let Justin rave while eating his sandwich. When Justin was done, Emmett took a swallow of his soda and looked his friend straight in the eyes. "You know Baby, you are not some novice artist just starting out. You have worked hard, especially over the last couple years, and have built a solid reputation. So many people have recognized your talent, all your shows have done so well and of course all of us are so proud of you. I understand Jennifer, Debbie & Brian telling you they are sure you will be chosen. Do you really think that if you are not chosen that it is going to have any significant impact on your career? I mean will all the people who have praised your work just suddenly say, Wow we were all wrong his work is shit?" When he was done talking Emmett took another drink of soda and continued to look Justin in the eyes.

Justin had to laugh, for all Emmett's flamboyance he was one of the most sensible people Justin had ever met. "Em, you are an amazing friend. Of course you're right. It might be embarrassing not to be chosen but it really won't have a big impact on my career. Thank you for calling BS on my drama queening." Emmett reached across the table and took Justin's hand. "Baby you know that I love you and am blown away by your talent but sometimes you just need to hear the actual facts."

The friends then fell into a discussion about what else was going on in their lives. As usual Em's love life was convoluted and unsatisfactory. Justin suggested that Emmett come down to the house the next day. "I'll get Brian to grill some steaks and we'll drink lots of wine, so plan on staying overnight, and we'll have a nice long visit." Justin ordered a turkey sandwich to go that he was going to drop off at Brian's office. After hugs and kisses from Debbie and the paying of their lunch checks the friends left the diner. When Debbie went over to clean the booth she discovered a hundred dollar bill under Emmett's plate. She was pretty sure that Justin had put it there but she knew that neither of her "boys" would own up to leaving her that money.

Justin drove the short distance to Kinnetik. He stopped at Carole's desk to be sure Brian was alone before he went into his office. Brian looked up, annoyed at first that someone came into his office without knocking, but smiled when he saw who his visitor was. "Sunshine, this is a nice surprise.'" Justin came over and put the sandwich bag down on Brian's desk. "Here's a sandwich from the diner, I am guessing you haven't had any lunch. I want to apologize for overreacting to this whole PPG thing. First for overworking my hand and then my freak out over this silly newspaper article." Brian came around his desk, gathered Justin in his arms and gave him a kiss. "Lucky for you that you were very cute freaking out but I do wish you would be more careful with you hand." Justin nestled his head against Brian's chest. "I promise to be more careful but sometimes I just get caught up and don't think about resting my hand until it starts to cramp."

Brian kissed the top of Justin's head. "I know Sunshine but I can't help worrying about you. By the way, I called Mikey per your instructions. He launched into his usual misses me, never sees me anymore routine. So, in a moment of weakness I invited him & Ben out to the house for a barbeque tomorrow." Justin laughed. "I saw Em at the diner and invited him to come down for a visit tomorrow and told him you would grill us steaks. We better invite Ted & Blake so no one gets hurt feelings."

While Brian buzzed Ted to invite him & Blake to the barbeque, Justin called Alice to ask her to order steaks and a couple free range chicken breasts for Ben from the butcher. He told her he would pick them up on his way home, along with some potato salad and the fixings for a tossed salad. Alice insisted that he was not serving store bought potato salad while she was his housekeeper. She would make potato salad and deviled eggs. Justin knew better than to try and talk her out of it.

Justin locked the office door and gave Brian a quick blowjob before he left for home. A very happy Brian got a bottle of water from his office refrigerator and ate his turkey sandwich while thinking about how much he loved his partner. He also considered how his life had changed so much that he had committed to barbequing steaks and was actually looking forward to the gathering of his friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

**Chapter 6**

When Justin got home he found Alice peeling potatoes and Charlie pressed into service shelling hard boiled eggs. He laughed knowing it was unusual for Charlie to perform any kitchen duty but he knew better than to refuse his wife's requests. Justin put down the bag with the meat and said. "I can take over egg duty." Alice shook her head. "Justin, you need to get up in your studio and get some art work done. Charlie and I are happy to get this stuff ready for your dinner tomorrow. For your supper tonight I have a chicken ready to go in the oven when Brian leaves the office. When he gets home you can put the tray of vegetables in the oven to roast. You should be able to eat about a half hour after they go in."

Justin thanked her and did head up to his studio to work on his mural sketches. A couple hours later he heard the house phone ring and a short time later his cell rang. He checked the caller ID before answering. "Hey old man, are you on the way home to me."

He could hear the frown in Brian's voice. "Enough old man talk you twat. I let Alice know I was leaving and because I am a considerate partner I am letting you know to get yourself ready for me!"

Justin laughed. "Later stud." Brian answered with his own "Later." And disconnected the call.

Justin went down to the kitchen where Alice was putting a chicken into one of the ovens. A tray of cut vegetables was sitting on the counter. "Justin just put these in at 400 degrees when Brian gets home. Have fun tomorrow with your friends, the potato salad and deviled eggs are in the fridge. See you Monday."

Justin thanked her and went upstairs. He took a quick shower, put on Brian's favorite cologne and wearing just some loose sweatpants he went back downstairs. He went out to the pool and pulled off the solar couple and made sure the temp on the pool heater was set correctly. Back in the kitchen he poured wine in a couple plastic wine glasses and waited to hear the garage door open.

Brian felt his work stress fall away as he turned into his driveway. As he pushed the button to open the garage door he had a smile on his face knowing his Sunshine was waiting inside. He figured Justin would be working in his studio so he planned on quickly changing into comfortable clothes before heading over to the studio.

Inside Justin tuned on the second oven and put the vegetable tray inside, set the cook time for 30 minutes and switched off most of the kitchen lights. He untied his sweatpants cord and picked up the two wine glasses.

Brian came thru the garage door and slipped off his shoes in the mud room, his normal routine. He entered the dimly lit kitchen and saw Justin standing there holding the wine glasses and looking unbelievably beautiful to Brian. "Welcome home lover, care to join me in the hot tub?" Without waiting for an answer Justin turned and headed out to the pool area. Before he got to the door his pants slid down the floor and he stepped out of them.

Brian got undressed in record time with his hard cock leading the way he followed Justin thru the family room, grabbing some condoms and lube from a drawer. Justin smiled over his shoulder before walking to the hot tub and stepping down into the swirling water. A second later as Brian followed him into the water, Justin handed him one of the wine glasses.

Justin tapped his glass against Brian's. "I am so glad you are home and I love you more every day we are together."

Brian couldn't trust himself to say anything, afraid it would be too lesbionic. He took a sip of his wine and then leaned forward to kiss those wonderful, inviting pink lips. After the kiss both men sat down in the tub, leaning back, sipping the wine and relaxing for a couple minutes just happy to be together.

Brian put down his wine glass and pulled Justin close to him. "Sunshine you sure know how to make a guy feel welcome and appreciated. This is the best homecoming I could imagine."

Justin put down his wine glass, grabbed a condom from where Brian left them on the side of the hot tub. Once he had the condom on Brian he faced him and lowered himself onto Brian's cock. As Justin settled, Brian grabbed his head and pulled him into a long, passionate kiss. Once their mouth parted, Justin started to slowly move up and down.

Half an hour later both men sat in the tub hands intertwined and feeling sated after one of their most memorable fucks. Justin stood up and pulled Brian up with him. "Our dinner is ready, let's take a quick shower and then eat." Justin's stomach chose that moment to growl as if it agreed it was time for food.

Brian laughed and followed Justin into the pool house shower. They emerged wrapped in terry robes. Brian went over to the pool to pull the solar cover over the water. Justin continued in the kitchen and removed the chicken and vegetables from the ovens. Brian came inside carrying their still partially filled wine glasses.

"Bri, you want to carve the chicken while I set the table." Working together like the team that they are, in a few minutes the two men were sitting down to dinner. While they ate, their easy conversation revolved around Justin's lunch with his mother & Debbie, his conversation with Emmett and what had happened during Brian's work day. They also talked about their planned barbeque the next day.

After dinner Brian put away the leftovers while Justin loaded the dishwasher. Brian gathered his discarded clothes and headed towards the stairs. "I'm headed upstairs where I will get ready for round two of tonight's activities. You lock up and set the alarm."

Justin did as requested and ran upstairs anxious for more lovemaking with Brian.

The next morning Brian, as usual, was the first to wake up. He knew from their years together that Justin was not a morning person. Whenever Brian brought that fact to Justin's attention he was told that "older people" needed less sleep. Brian enjoyed laying there with Justin pressed against his side, Justin's arm thrown across Brian's stomach. No matter what position they went to sleep in, this where they were when they woke up.

Eventually Brian slipped out of bed and headed downstairs to get some coffee. Alice had filled the coffee maker and set the timer so the coffee was brewed and waiting for Brian. He drank his first cup of coffee along with a glass of juice and took his vitamins. Brian filled his mug a second time and fixed a cup of coffee for Justin which he took upstairs.

Justin was sitting up in bed and Brian leaned down to deliver a good morning kiss before handing his partner his coffee. Brian got back into his side of the bed. "So Sunshine, what's on your agenda for today."

Justin took a few sips of coffee before answering. "I want to get the steaks and chicken into the marinades that Alice made. After that I need to get in a couple hours in the studio before we get set up for the barbeque."

Brian made his standard annoyed face. "I guess I am to be pressed into grilling duty." Justin tried not to smile, he knew Brian actually enjoyed grilling but tried very hard to keep that fact hidden. "Well Bri, I'm sure Emmett could do the grilling or maybe Ben?"

Brian snorted before answering. "It would be more trouble to show them where everything is and explain which charcoal to use. I'll just do it myself." Justin had to wait a minute before replying to be sure he didn't laugh, Brian hated when Justin saw through his protests.

They chatted comfortably while they drank their coffee. Weekends were normally the only time they had these morning conversations. During the week Brian left early for the office and Justin normally did not get out of bed until about an hour after Brian left for Kinnetik. After coffee & conversation, Brian & Justin moved into the master bathroom for a shower & a fuck. Eventually 2 happy, satisfied men moved to the kitchen for breakfast.

Justin got the steaks and chicken into their marinades while Brian loaded the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. Afterwards Justin headed for his studio and Brian headed for the study to check his email and get some work done on pending Kinnetik presentations.

Justin spent the next few hours working on his sketches for the PPG murals. He needed to be ready to meet with the judging committee next Wednesday. He decided he had done enough work for today and didn't want to stress his hand so when his stomach rumbled for lunch he was happy to stop.

Down in the kitchen he cut up salad fixings, adding some leftover chicken. Justin loaded a tray with the salad, plates, silverware and a couple of glasses of iced tea and made his way to Brian's study at the other end of the house. Brian looked up from his computer and smiled. "Sunshine, that looks like a nice low carb lunch."

Justin laughed. "Well I wanted to offset all the delicious fatty things you will be eating at dinner. Rolls, potato salad, steak, deviled eggs and Alice's homemade cookies with ice cream for dessert." Brian just rolled his eyes while he loaded salad onto his plate.

When they finished lunch Brian took the dirty dishes to the kitchen while Justin went upstairs to change out of his paint stained clothes. His cell phone rang as he entered the bedroom. He took a quick look at the caller ID before answering. "Hello Ted, what's up with you?"

There was a quick laugh before the reply. "Actually this is Blake. Ted refused to call, he's afraid we might annoy Brian." Justin could hear Ted protesting that in the background. "Don't worry Blake, I have a different philosophy than Ted, I kind of enjoy annoying Brian every once in a while. I think it is good for him. Of course if you are calling to say you aren't coming I will be both disappointed and annoyed."

"We are looking forward to our first barbeque of the season. Actually we were wondering if we could show up a little early and get in a few games of tennis on your court. Teddy and I have been trying to play a couple times a week."

Justin smiled and thought that tennis a couple times a week was definitely more Blake's idea then Ted's. "That's not a problem, come as early as you like." "Em is planning on driving down with us so is it Ok for him to be early as well."

"Wow Blake! How about you take advantage of my easy going nature. Actually I had invited Em down here hoping for an overdue gossip session so it's perfect for him to come early. He can help me set up and we can talk while you and Ted get into shape." The two blondes said good bye and hung up.

When Justin brought his partner up to date, he got the expected raised eyebrow from Brian. They worked together to get the cover off the pool and the cushions on the patio before Brian went upstairs to change.

It wasn't too long until Ted, Blake & Emmett arrived. Justin opened a bottle of wine and he and Emmett settled in on the patio for their bull session. Brian escaped back to the study happy to get some more work done. Blake & Ted headed to the tennis court.

When Ben & Michael pulled into the driveway, Michael was instantly annoyed to see Ted's car already parked there. Michael thought he & Ben were the only guest for this barbeque. When they walked onto the patio Justin & Emmett were arranging plates, flatware and glasses on a table by the built in grill. Justin hurried over to the new arrivals. "Hi guys, glad you are here. Ted & Blake have been playing tennis for a while so they should be over here soon. Em & I have started on wine and there is beer and sodas in the pool house fridge so help yourselves."

Ben smiled, said hello and gave Justin and Emmett a quick hug. Michael looked around the patio for Brian but didn't see him anywhere. "Where is Brian!"

Justin was annoyed but tried not to show it. "He is working in the study, why don't you go let him know everyone is here. Brian needs to get the charcoal going in the grill."

Without another word Michel headed into the house. Ben started an apology to Justin who just held up his hand and told him not to worry about it.

Brian looked up & smiled when his longtime friend came into the study. "Hey Mikey, you and Ben are here so I guess the festivities can begin." He noticed that there was no smile on Michael's face.

"I thought that it was just going to be Ben and me here tonight. You didn't mention inviting anyone else." Brian took a calming breath before answering. "What happened was that Justin saw Honeycutt at the diner and thought he seemed kind of down so he invited him down here for an overnight visit. When Justin brought me a sandwich for lunch I let him know I had invited you and Ben. We decided to ask Ted & Blake, it will be fun to have the whole gang together."

Michael still looked unhappy. "I thought we would have some time together, I never see you alone anymore. I guess Justin had other plans." Brian refused to get dragged into that conversation. He slung his arm over Michael's shoulders and led him back out to the patio.

Blake & Ted had finished their tennis games. When Brian and Michael came out of the house Ted was announcing he had won their match but just barely. Ben challenged Ted to a game but he pleaded exhaustion. Blake took the challenge, explaining that he could use the practice. Ben didn't want to use Ted's "fancy racket" so Justin told him where to find some generic rackets in the pool house closet. Emmett and Ted decided they would try out the pool's hot tub.

Brian extracted himself from Michael and came over to give Justin a kiss. "Brian you should get the grill started." Brian agreed and went to the pool house to gather his special combination of different charcoals & wood chips. Like everything else he did Brian made a major production of grilling. He tried a few different charcoals & wood chips before deciding on the "best" combination. He liked to say he was a "purist" and had no interest in using a gas grill.

Michael followed him into the pool house and looked on horrified as Brian gathered what he wanted for the grill. "I can't believe that Justin is making you do the grilling." Brian looked generally puzzled. "Mikey, I like grilling. I was pretty surprised by that but of course like everything I do, I am a master at grilling. Poor Justin realized pretty quickly that he was outclassed. Poor guy was pretty broken up by it but we have been able to move past his disappointment."

Brian smirked at Michael but his friend still had a grim expression on his face. Brian stuffed paper in the bottom of the charcoal starter and after he loaded his special mix in the top he lit the paper. He tried again to lift Michael's mood.

"Hey Mikey, how about you and I take on Justin & Honeycutt at a game of pool volleyball." Justin laughed as he took off his shorts & tee shirt. "Come on Em. Let's show them what we've got"

Emmett jumped from the hot tub into the pool, ready for the game. Michael sat down on a lounge chair. "I don't like volleyball. It reminds me of high school gym class." He wanted everyone to realize he was not happy about anything that was happening.

Brian pointedly ignored him. "Come on Theodore you had time to rest up from tennis so you are now on my team." The resulting volleyball game was hilarious. Ted continually complained he was too old for all this physical activity, Emmett's over the top antics caused Justin to continually laugh. Brian told Emmett if Justin drowned because he was laughing so hard he would seek revenge. No one seemed to be able to keep an accurate score but by the time Ben & Blake returned from their tennis game, Brian claimed victory. Emmett and Ted returned to the hot tub still arguing over the final volleyball score. Justin got them drink refills while Brian checked on his charcoal which he decided was ready to be emptied out of the starter into the grill.

Ben went over to try and convince to join him for a swim before dinner but Michael refused to leave his chair. He didn't see the eye rolls & head shaking by Ted, Blake & Emmett relaxing in the hot tub. Justin brought the meat out from the kitchen. As Brian started to grill, Justin returned to the kitchen to bring out the side dishes.

Justin put some rolls into the oven and got the potato salad and deviled eggs out of the refrigerator and uncovered the dishes. He was surprised when he saw Michael come in the house. "Michael, just in time to help me get this stuff outside. Thanks."

Michael stood with his arms crossed in front of him. "I can't believe that you make Brian do the grilling. One of these days you are going to push him too far and Brian is going to realize everything he has given up trying to keep you happy."

Justin frowned and wished Michael would get over this whole poor Brian routine. "Michael, Brian likes to grill. I am as surprised by that as you are. You should know better than anyone that Brian only does what he wants."

Michael had not changed his stance. "I do know that Brian never wanted to be living in the suburbs and grilling food before you started interfering in his life. You make sure I never get anytime alone with Brian. It was just supposed to be Ben & me here for dinner tonight but you made sure that didn't happen."

Justin was so tired of these conversations but tried to stay calm. "Michael that is not what happened. I invited Em before I even knew that Brian had invited you."

Neither man noticed that Brian had come into the kitchen until he moved next to his childhood friend. "Michael! I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with you tonight. You have been miserable ever since you showed up and the rest of us are really over your drama queen shit. You are incredibly rude to talk to Justin like this in our home and if I even hear you doing this again you will no longer be welcome here. Now grab a fucking bowl or dish and get outside."

Justin & Brian exchanged an exasperated but not surprised look. Justin took the rolls out of the oven and Brian picked up the deviled eggs as the three exited the house Brian announced that dinner was served.

Michael did nothing to disguise his unhappiness and although everyone attempted to engage him in conversation his answers were for the most part mono-syllabic. Ben attempted to quietly find out what had happened in the kitchen but Michael refused to answer his questions. Meanwhile Emmett & Blake decided that Ted needed a fashion makeover and discussed what he should be wearing. Brian participated by throwing in the occasional snide comment, however when Blake told Ted he needed pants that showed off "his cute little ass", Brian clamped his hands over his ears and claimed that comment made his ears bleed. Justin tried to defend Ted but was outnumbered. Justin could tell how annoyed Brian was with Michael and tried to keep his partner calm with a comforting hand on Brian's thigh. Whenever Brian turned to look at Justin he was rewarded with a full watt sunshine smile. Michael spent his time with his head down mainly just moving food around on his plate but eating very little.

When everyone had finished eating Justin announced that dessert was Alice's homemade oatmeal raisin and chocolate cookies with ice cream. Michael took this opportunity to say that he had a really bad headache and didn't want any dessert. Justin was about to offer him some aspirin but Brian spoke before Justin had a chance. "That is really a shame Mikey. You better go right home and get into bed. You have made it perfectly clear that you are not having a very good time."

A surprised and confused Michael started to answer until he saw the look on Brian's face. Instead he stood up and moved away from the table. Ben quickly got up and joined him. Ted, Blake & Emmett all expressed concern and hoped he felt better soon but no one suggested that they stay. Justin put his hand on Brian's shoulder and thanked Ben for coming while Michael hurried to their car.

As soon as they got in the car Ben turned to Michael. "Baby what's wrong. You were looking forward to this barbeque but as soon as we got here something seemed to go wrong."

"This dinner was supposed to be for just you & me. Justin couldn't allow that so he made sure the others were invited and even got them to arrive before us. Than he makes Brian do the grilling, the little twink constantly has to show how he has Brian under his control. Justin has always been jealous of my friendship with Brian."

"Michael I don't think that is really what happened. Blake told me he called and asked to come early so that he and Ted could play some tennis. Emmett said that Justin invited him when they were at the diner before he even knew Brian had invited us."

"Ben, you really don't understand how Justin has wheedled his way into Brian's life. I hardly even recognize Brian. He always made fun of the whole suburban hetero life style and now Justin has him grilling. Somehow we have to get Brian to realize what is going on!"

"Michael baby you are really overreacting. Brian seems really happy to me."

Michael didn't bother to answer, he turned to look out the window and plan how he could free his best friend from Justin's influence.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

Chapter 7

Everyone was quiet after the departure of Ben & Michael. Justin could sense how annoyed and upset Brian was by Michael's behavior. Blake & Ted seemed really uncomfortable and unsure what to do or say but Emmett did a little eye roll and smiled. "I guess now that Michael left someone else will have to lead the conversation." Everyone, including Brian laughed.

Justin suggested that since the sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped it might be better to have dessert in the house. Brian & Ted pulled the cover over the pool while Emmett and Justin loaded the pool house dishwasher. Blake carried the patio furniture cushions inside. He asked Justin. "Is there somewhere special these go or should I just stack them on the floor?" Justin laughed. "Blake, you are in the home of the obsessively neat Brian Kinney, the a place for everything and everything in its place Brian Kinney. Those cushions go in the specifically designed closet back by the bathrooms!"

Brian & Ted walked into the pool house during Justin's explanation. "Well Sunshine, I'm glad you know that everything should be in its place even though you rarely put things in their correct place."

"Brian, I am just trying to curb your OCD tendencies before you become too neurotic. Now let's go in the house and have our dessert." Brian smirked but put his arm around Justin waist as the friends headed into the kitchen.

Dessert conversation was light and deliberately no one mentioned Michael or his behavior. About an hour later Ted & Blake decided to head home. Justin convinced Emmett to stick with their original plan and spend the night. He said he would take Emmett back to the city the next day. Blake said to let him & Ted know if they wanted to meet at the diner for breakfast or lunch.

Justin opened a new bottle of wine and topped off his glass & Emmett's. "Em, I bought a movie with just you in mind. I've waited to watch it until I could do it with you. What do you think about us watching _Whatever Happened to Baby Jane_?"

Emmett shrieked "Joan and Bette together in one of the greatest bitch-fests ever. Oh Baby that sounds perfect!" Brian just rolled his eyes and followed the two excited friends into the media room. Justin and Emmett had each seen the movie many times and their speaking the lines along with the actresses kept Brian amused. When they screamed along with Bette Davis "BUT YOU ARE STILL IN THAT CHAIR BLANCHE!" All three men laughed so much Justin had to pause the movie while they recovered enough to keep watching.

Brian took that opportunity to depart. "You boys enjoy your movie. I'm going to go upstairs and read for a while." He went over to Justin and gave him a quick kiss. "Later." Justin smiled and replied "Later". Once Brian left Emmett felt safe in talking about his romantic turmoils while they continued to watch the movie. Once the bottle of wine was emptied they switched to water, Emmett had a good cry on Justin's shoulder and by the end of their evening he felt better. Justin didn't have any answers for his friend but was a good listener and made all the appropriate sympathetic responses. Since Emmett had a meeting with customers to go over final plans for their twin girls' sixteenth birthday party, he didn't want to stay up too late. It was just after midnight when they went upstairs. Emmett to the "big guest room" and Justin to the Master bedroom where Brian was waiting for a couple sessions of lovemaking before they drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Emmett and Brian were having coffee in the kitchen when Justin came downstairs. Brian was surprised to see his partner recently showered and fully dressed. "Sunshine I can hardly believe you are up and about so early." Justin took the mug of coffee that Brain poured for him and gave him a good morning kiss. "Well I woke up and you were gone. I waited for my morning coffee to be delivered and when that didn't happen I decided to take my shower alone and got dressed."

Brian frowned. "I was just being a good host, didn't want to leave our guest all alone." Justin gave a quick laugh. "That was very nice of you but now you are looking a little sad. I thought Emmett and I could have breakfast at the diner. Want to go with us?" Brian shook his head. "I think I'll just stay here and do some work on the Brown presentation. That has to be ready for your review before our Thursday meeting."

Emmett called Ted and made plans to meet up at the diner. Once they were in the car Emmett turned to Justin with a concerned look. "Baby I hope I haven't caused any problems for you with Brian. He seemed annoyed." Justin just smiled. "Don't worry about it Em, he is just missing his normal weekend morning sex. He'll survive. This breakfast get together will give him a chance to do some work. If I was home I would be bitching at him for working too hard."

"What did Brian mean about you having to review stuff for a Kinnetik presentation?" Justin gave a quick laugh before he replied. "That is something that annoys Brian and also makes him feel proud all at the same time. Leo Brown thinks a lot of my artistic abilities and when he signed his last contract renewal he insisted on a clause saying I had to okay all the proposed ads for his account."

Emmett looked wide eyed at his friend. "Oh my god, that must have driven Brian crazy." "Actually Em, I think it pleased him, although he would never admit it. Brian likes me to get involved in Kinnetik stuff and he is almost ridiculously proud of my art work. Leo Brown is one of his most important customers, if not the most important, so the fact that he admires my art makes Brian pretty happy. The Browns are going to be staying with us Thursday night before the big cocktail party at Kinnetik on Friday. Leo bought a couple of my paintings at my last Chicago show for his office. His wife complained that he didn't buy anything for their house."

Emmett had been hired by Brian to plan the cocktail party for Kinnetik employees and clients to celebrate the best first quarter the company ever had. 'You'll have to point the Browns out to me on Friday." "I will. Did you notice the painting hanging in the guest room?" Emmett smiled. "Of course I noticed it. It is amazing but of course I think that about all your work." Justin blushed as he usually did when a friend praised his art. "I painted that as a gift for Donna Brown. They will be using that guest room so I thought I'd see if she mentions liking it. If she does then I will tell her it is a gift. If she doesn't say anything about it, I'll just include it in my next show."

When they entered the diner they spotted Ted & Blake already seated in a booth. They said they had just gotten there and due to the morning rush Debbie hadn't even come over to the booth yet. Shortly after Justin & Emmett sat down Debbie appeared coffee pot in hand. "Hello boys. Sunshine I see you got out without Brian. You can tell that asshole for me that I want to talk to him about how upset Michael is with how Brian treated him last night!" The three other men in the both looked worriedly at Justin waiting for his reaction. "Well Deb you know that Michael was pretty mean to me last night. So I called my mother and told her all about it this morning. She is going to stop by the comic book store his week to holler at Michael."

Debbie, along with Emmett & Ted, had a shocked look on her face. "Why would Jennifer…" Justin held up his hand. "Why wouldn't my mother do that for me? Isn't that what Michael always does, run to you and tell you how mean someone was to him and you get involved in the situation. I figured why shouldn't I do the same thing?" Debbie was still trying to get a handle on what Justin was saying to her. Blake had turned away and held the menu up in front of his face, biting his lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"I know how Brian can act and after all Michael and I have done for him, he needs…" Again Justin interrupted her. "You know I hear all the time about what you did for Brian and I understand all that and I know how grateful Brian is to you. I know how much you have done for me and I'm grateful also. We both love you. What I don't ever hear so much about is what Brian has done for Michael over the years. I don't hear too much about Brian helping Michael with his studies and doing his reports so Michael didn't flunk out of high school. I don't hear too much about Brian defending Michael from bullies so Michael didn't get beat up or trapped in a locker on a regular basis. Last night Michael behaved like a real shit at our barbeque. He made everyone uncomfortable and accused me of being jealous of his relationship with Brian and forcing Brian to live a life style he wasn't comfortable with. Brian called him on his behavior and he has nothing to apologize for. I strongly suggest you drop it."

Debbie was still too shocked to reply. Ted and Emmett both agreed with Justin about Michael's behavior. Although she was clearly annoyed Debbie took their orders and headed back to the kitchen. She was unusually quiet when she returned with their food. Ted looked across at Justin. "Are you sure you should eat that?" Justin smiled. "Deb is too smart to poison me here in front of witnesses; also it would be bad for business to have someone drop dead after eating breakfast." Emmett hugged Justin. "Well baby, we all still love you."

When Debbie delivered the check, she surprised them all but leaning over to kiss Justin. "I do love you Sunshine and I've always said you have the biggest balls of anyone I know." She quickly headed back towards the kitchen before Justin could reply. Ted & Emmett looked shocked. Blake smiled over at Justin. "I'm not sure how often Deb hears the harsh truth. I think it just took her some time to digest what you had to say." Justin laughed. "I do really love her."

A few minutes later Michael walked through the diner door. He immediately spotted his friends and headed over to their booth. "Hey Boy Wonder, Brian finally get tired of you leading him around by the nose." Justin didn't even look up. "Michael, its Brian's cock that I lead him around by and I think that is what really bothers you. I'm sure he is getting a little lonely so I think I'll be heading home to grab that fabulous cock that is off limits for you." He handed Emmett some money to pay for his breakfast, pushed past Michael and left.

Emmett was the first to speak. "Michael you really can be a huge butthead." Blake shook his head as he looked over at Michael. "I think you need to talk to someone about your obsession with Brian. It is so obvious to everyone else that Brain is totally in love with Justin." Michael turned red. "Who cares what you think! You are nothing but some loser drug addict that Ted feels sorry for." Ted was out of the booth almost before the words were out of Michael's mouth. Ted shoved him back against the empty booth across the aisle and leaned down into Michael's face and screamed. "WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TALK TO BLAKE LIKE THAT. HE'S A LOSER? YOU RUN A COMIC BOOK STORE AND HE HELPS PEOPLE GET THEIR LIVES BACK ON TRACK! Come on Blake we are out of here." Debbie hurried to her son's side. "What is going on?" Emmett handed her their check and the cash to pay it before replying. "Michael just called Blake a "loser drug addict" and Ted objected to that description. It appears that Michael is trying his best to alienate all his friends." Then he left to join Ted & Blake.

Justin Came through the door from the garage and headed towards the study at the other end of the house. He discarded clothing as he made his way down the hall. Brian called out to him. "Sunshine is that you? Back home already." As a naked Justin walked into the Study Brian got a huge smile on his face. "So did you have a nice breakfast with your friends?" Justin nodded his head. "I REALLY missed you!" Justin came over to where Brian was sitting, dropped to his knees, unbuttoned Brian's jeans and proceeded to give his lover one of his extra special blow jobs.

After kissing and licking his way around Justin's body, Brian had recharged and he lifted Justin on top of the conference table and fucked him hard with Justin's loud verbal appreciation. After getting their breath back, Brian & Justin made their way down the hall to the bathroom adjoining the home gym and had a relaxing shower. As they came back into the hallway Brian felt obliged to point out that the hall floor was not the correct place for Justin's clothes. That earned him a punch in the arm from Justin who headed upstairs leaving his discarded clothes on the floor.

Brian headed back to the study picking up his partner's clothes along the way. Upstairs Justin put on some sweat pants and a T shirt before heading to his studio. A couple hours later Brian made his way to the studio. Justin greeted him with a kiss that went from welcoming to passionate. Brian kissed his way down Justin's body, pulling down his sweats and delivered a return blow job. When he was finished Brian looked up at Justin. "Sunshine, the day didn't start out the way I like but things have really improved as the day progresses." Justin came down to his knees to kiss Brian again. "I love you Brian Kinney!" Brian hugged his partner tightly and murmured in his ear. "Me too!"

A few minutes later Justin's cell rang. He pulled up his pants and went over to his work table to answer it. "Hi Mom. What's up?" He listened for a few minutes before he started to laugh. Wait Mom, I have to put you on speaker so Brian can hear this. Start again."

Jennifer sounded a little unsure as she started again. "Honey, I had the strangest call from Debbie. She asked if you had called me and asked me to go to Michael's store and yell at him for being mean to you. I told her you hadn't called and that I couldn't imagine you ever calling me to ask me to yell at Michael." Brian looked confused but Justin had a huge smile on his face. "Mom, I can't believe Deb called you. We had the guys over for a barbeque last night and Michael was in one of his moods. Brian told him he was being rude which, of course, did not improve his mood. He and Ben left right after we ate. This morning I had breakfast at the diner with Ted, Blake & Emmett. Debbie started in on how badly Brian treated Michael and how she was going to talk to Brian. I thought by telling her that I asked you to holler at Michael she would realize how silly it was for her to always rush to Michael's defense. I never thought she would take me seriously."

Jennifer & Brian were both laughing by the time Justin finished his story. Jennifer finally managed to say she was glad she wasn't really expected to yell at Michael before she hung up. Brian was still chuckling when he came over to hug Justin again. "Sunshine, you really are a piece of work. I wish I could have seen Debbie's face when you told her your mother was going to take on Michael over his behavior."

Justin's stomach chose that moment to rumble. Brian picked up Justin's cell and called for Pizza delivery.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

Chapter 8

Brian was a little late getting to the office on Monday. Justin had, unusually for him, woken up early and joined Brian in his morning shower. This led to a pretty spirited morning fuck. The result was Brian's late arrival in an extremely good mood. He found Ted waiting in his office. Ted took an exaggerated look at his watch while Brian made his way to his desk. "Yes Theodore, I am aware that I am a little late for our meeting. However since I am the guy who signs your pay checks you'll just have to deal with it."

Ted smiled, he could tell that Brian was in a better than usual mood. "So Brian, did Justin have a little insomnia this morning?" Brian couldn't help the satisfied expression on his face, even though he attempted to look stern.

Ted handed Brian a packet of papers. "There are last week's financials, Kinnetik continues to outperform any previous years. Tay-Kin Art is also performing strongly. Justin's last 2 shows were very successful. KT Properties has paid down its credit line, occupancy rates are over 90%. Jennifer has gotten estimates to redo the duplex on Maple Street in Oakland and I think we can get that done before the University starts the fall semester in August. I also looked into the programs run by Good Shepherd as you requested. They have a really interesting senior daycare program. It has a couple of paid employees and lots of volunteers from their "Golden Age Club". The daycare provides care for seniors who are a little confused or need help with medication, oldsters who can't be left alone during the day. It charges a pretty minimal fee for the care. The parish was providing some financial assistance to the senior daycare but parishioners who weren't using it complained about their contributions supporting it. Rumors in the community say that the daycare is going to have to close soon or raise their rates which will put it out of the reach of most people who are using it. Sexual orientation not a huge issue in the senior community so this could be the program you are looking for."

Brian was reviewing the spreadsheets and information as Ted talked to him. The great financial news only added to his already good mood. This was an outstandingly Monday so far!

"Good work as usual Ted. I like this senior daycare. I need you to get legal to write up an agreement that states that the donation must be used only for the senior daycare and that the donation must be anonymous."

Ted was taking notes. "I am guessing that you are thinking of a donation from the JB Foundation?" Brian nodded. "You and I can sign the withdrawal slip. I'll let Justin know about the donation."

Ted got up from his chair. 'I have some withdrawal forms in my office. I'll got get one. How much were you planning on donating?" Brian looked thoughtful for a minute. "Ted, go on back to your office. I want to call Justin before I decide on the amount we'll contribute. I'll call you after I talk to Justin." Ted smiled. "I hear and I obey, oh fearless leader." "Just get out of my office Theodore."

At home, when Justin came downstairs Alice was unloading the dishwasher. They exchanged good morning greetings. He got himself some coffee and toasted a bagel for his breakfast. "Alice, Emmett used the big guest room on Saturday night. When the cleaners come today make sure they change the sheets & towels. The Browns will be using that room on Thursday & Friday nights." Alice nodded and let Justin know. "I ordered some flowers for Thursday delivery, enough for arrangements in their room, the parlor and the dining room." Justin was cutting up a couple apples to take up to the studio. "Thanks Alice, don't know what we would do without you and don't want to find out." He gave the housekeeper a quick kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs.

A short time later he answered his cell. "Hi Brian. After our shower this morning you can't be calling to have phone sex." "Although that would be interesting, you're right I am not calling for phone sex. I told you about Father Bolton from Good Shepherd who helped with uncovering Claire's roofing scam."

"Yeah I remember. You said he seemed like a good guy, especially for a priest." Brian smirked as he replied. "Well, I had Ted look into the parish programs to find one where sexual orientation wouldn't be a factor. Turns out they have a pretty cool senior daycare. It provides care for seniors who shouldn't be left alone while their family or friends are working."

Justin was wondering where this conversation was going. "Okay Bri that seems like a good thing but I think Ted & Cynthia are still able to keep their eye on you during the day."

"Very funny Sunshine. I would like the JB Foundation to make a contribution to Good Shepherd. Legal is drawing up an agreement that states the money must be used only for the senior daycare and that it has to be anonymous. I want to give them $50,000 but only if that is alright with you."

Justin sat down. "Wow Mr Kinney you can still surprise me! I have to meet this Father Bolton, he must be a special person. If you want to make the contribution I am 100 percent okay with that. Do you need me to come up to the office to sign anything?"

"No Ted and I can sign the withdrawal but I didn't want to do anything without talking to you first. Thanks Justin, see you later. You know I love you a lot." Brian hung up before Justin could reply, he was always embarrassed when he found himself saying something so lesbionic but more often than he liked he couldn't stop himself from saying them.

Justin sat for a couple moments in his studio. He knew how hard it still was for Brian to verbally express his feelings. When Brian spontaneously blurted them out like he did at the end of this phone call; Justin's heart tightened in his chest and the feelings of being so cherished by Brian were almost more than he could handle. He felt so lucky that after all the ups & downs of their relationship they were now both so secure in their love for each other. Unlike his partner Justin had no problem with lesbionic thoughts.

Brian called Ted's office to let him know that Justin had Okayed the contribution and gave him the amount to withdraw. Ted silently wondered what the chances were that Justin would refuse Brian something that he wanted to do. Brian suggested that Ted invite Father Bolton to lunch, explain the conditions for the contribution and if the priest signed the agreement, give him the cashier's check.

Father Bolton was working at his desk when the parish secretary told him that a man was on the phone asking to speak with him. When the priest answered the phone, Ted explained who he was and asked Father Bolton to join him for lunch the next day at _Le Mont_ on Mt. Washington. Ted also asked him not to tell anyone who he was having lunch with. The priest wondered what this was all about but agreed to meet Ted for lunch.

_Le Mont_ perched on the edge of Mt. Washington. The restaurant offered pretty spectacular views of Pittsburgh's "Golden Triangle" where the Allegheny & Monongahela Rivers joined together to form the Ohio River. It was one of Brian's favorite restaurants and he frequently entertained clients here. Ted made his reservation under Kinnetik which insured he would have a table by the windows. He arrived early for lunch and ordered an iced tea while he waited for his guest and enjoyed the view. Right on time Father Bolton walked up to the table. "Hi Mr. Schmidt." Ted stood to shake the other man's hand; he was surprised that the priest was wearing a plain shirt and a tan sports coat. "Please call me Ted. Thanks for agreeing to meet me for lunch." Father Bolton sat down and ordered an iced tea from the waiter who had shown him to the table.

"You know Ted, I have lived my entire life in Pittsburgh. I have never been in one of these Mt. Washington restaurants before. I'm Impressed!" Ted smiled. "I would like to keep our meeting as discrete as possible so I thought this was a safe distance from your parish."

Father Bolton nodded. "I thought we were aiming to fly under the radar. That is why I went with civilian clothes today. Please call me Charles. I have to admit I am very curious about just why you invited me to lunch." Ted picked up his menu. "Why don't we order first? Lunch is being paid for by Kinnetik so feel free to order whatever you like."

After their waiter had taken their order, Ted smiled at Charles Bolton. "I guess it is time I satisfied your curiosity. Brian was quite impressed by you last week. He appreciated your help in resolving the whole roof situation at his mother's house. He also really liked what you had to say about love, that it all comes from God." The priest had a puzzled expression on his face. "I wasn't trying to impress anyone. Mrs. Kinney was not too happy that I involved myself in her roof issue. She came to rectory and wanted to know how I found out about her roof leak. She seemed annoyed that Claire had come to see me and was very upset that I visited with Brian"

"Well Charles, Joan and Brian have a very complicated relationship. He finds it hard to deal with his mother and she is very open about his disapproval of Brian." The priest laughed. "Yes, she was very open about expressing that disapproval and her disappointment that I didn't agree that Brian was headed for hell's fire. My meeting with Brian was so brief; I don't see how I could have impressed him."

"I've known Brian for a pretty long time and worked for him since he started Kinnetik. He took a chance with me after I had really screwed up my life. He is a brilliant businessman. One of his major talents is his ability to read people. As I said he liked what you had to say about love and that unlike most priests you were not judgmental. Brian and Justin have a charitable foundation that they use to make donations to worthy causes. As you might expect a lot of those donations go to gay oriented charities but they make other donations as well. Brian asked me to look into the programs that Good Shepherd offers. He wanted something that could not be affected by participants' sexual orientation. I think your senior daycare seems like a really worthwhile endeavor and Brian agreed."

Father Bolton gave a quick laugh. "Well I'm glad that it meets your approval and I must tell you that one of the attendees is an elderly gentleman who is dropped off every day but his slightly younger "longtime friend". Dolly, who runs the daycare, is very touched by them. She said that the younger man is very solicitous of his friend and when he comes to pick him up at the end of the day the older man is always so thrilled to see him. She also noticed that once they get in their car they always kiss. I think you and Brian can feel safe in thinking there is no discrimination going on at senior daycare."

Ted smiled. "I will certainly let Brian know that. He is very concerned that this donation be used exclusively for the senior daycare and that the donation is completely anonymous. He wants no one but you to know where the money is coming from. I have an agreement here that you would have to sign before I could give you the donation. There are two copies, one for your files and one for JB Foundation."

Charles looked over the agreement while the waiter delivered their lunches. "This looks pretty straight forward Ted. I have no trouble signing this. It will be helpful with the archdiocese if they want to divert the contribution to some other purpose. I will deny saying that if you quote me to anyone." Ted handed Charles a pen and he signed both copies of the agreement. Ted took one copy and handed the priest the check for $50,000. "Oh my God! Well there's something for my next confession, taking the Lord's name in vain. Ted, this is more than generous. I can't believe the amount of this contribution. This is amazing."

"I have learned over the years that Brian can be amazing for many different reasons. He and Justin are happy to help out a worthwhile cause. Let's enjoy our lunch and the view. I don't want you not to enjoy your first time at _Le Mont_."

When Father Bolton returned to the rectory he showed the agreement and the check to the parish secretary who actually screamed when she saw the amount. Together they went over to the church hall where the senior daycare occupied a side room. Dolly was busy as usual and when she saw Father Bolton and Jean, the secretary, she was afraid they were coming to tell her that the daycare was going to have to close. Money had been an issue since she first started the daycare, they could never seem to be able to build any surplus funds for a safety net. When she found out they were there with good news and she saw the contribution amount she burst into tears and had to sit down quickly. Several volunteers, fearing some bad news, hurried over. Surprise and delight quickly spread through the room. Father led them in a group prayer of thanksgiving.

Brian's good mood was reinforced when Ted related the details of his lunch meeting.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

Chapter 9

Brian walked in the kitchen door at 5 PM on Wednesday. Justin was just getting a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Bri, wow you are home early. What a nice surprise. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Brian looked around the kitchen. "Where's Alice, I came home early to talk with her." "Well Mr Kinney you are full of surprises today. I never thought I would lose you to a middle aged woman."

Brian smirked at his favorite blonde. "I just wanted to talk to her about the Brown's visit. I want to be sure that everything is ready." "You don't need to worry. Between Alice and me we are able to plan for two overnight guests. We didn't need the Kinney genius."

Brian came over to give Justin a hug and kiss. "Sunshine, I just didn't want you to feel like I dumped all this into your lap. I don't want you to think that I expect you to do the "housewife" stuff. I guess I should have called to let Alice know I was coming home early to tie up any loose ends." Justin nuzzled against Brian's chest. "I know you don't expect me to be your wife. You and I have discussed the Brown's visit for weeks. Alice and I went over tomorrow's dinner menu. You and I can handle breakfast Friday and Saturday, Alice is making banana nut muffins for Friday and corn muffins for Saturday. She told the cleaners to send a third person tomorrow so as Alice said the house will sparkle enough to even satisfy Brian. After we leave Friday morning, Alice will straighten up the Brown's room."

Brian gave his partner a quick kiss on the top of his head. "Thanks Sunshine, I know I can always depend on you." "Brian, we can always depend on each other. We make a great team."

Brian went upstairs to change his clothes while Justin heated some chicken noodle soup for dinner. When Brian came back he sliced some homemade bread. Since it was another pleasant evening they took their food out on the patio to eat. "Brian, you are taking the SUV tomorrow right?" "Yes, I need it to pick up the Browns. They are planning on landing at the Washington County Airport sometime around 3:30. Their pilot is going to visit some friends in Pittsburgh while they are here."

"I need you to take my sketches for the PPG murals to the office tomorrow. I talked to Jason and he is going to put the backing on them so they will sit on an easel at the presentation. You need to confirm that Jason is the one to do the backing. I don't want it passed off to anyone else." Brian smiled. "Yes Sir! I will make sure your orders are cared out."

Justin nodded in agreement. "Good, that is just how things should be." Both men laughed before they got back to eating their food.

Once they were finished eating Justin moved his chair next to Brian's and leaned his head on his partner's shoulder. Brian stretched his arm behind Justin's chair and absentmindedly ran his fingers through Justin soft blonde hair as they talked.

They discussed the Kinnetik cocktail party on Friday night; the Brown's visit; Brian was concerned that Justin wouldn't have enough time to finish working on his PPG presentation before Wednesday. Justin assured him that the sketching, which was hardest on his hand, was done and now all he had to complete was a sample painting, which he had planned and marked off the canvas. Since they had no plans for the weekend after the Brown's left on Saturday morning Justin was sure he had plenty of time to finish.

Once the sun went down and the temperature dropped they got undressed and into the hot tub. Justin rode Brian's cock and after they both satisfied, they soaked in the warm swirling water until Justin's fingers and toe started to prune.

After a quick shower they got redressed and went in the house. While Justin straightened the kitchen Brian headed to the study to check his email. Once he was done in the kitchen, Justin went into the family room, turned on the CD player and curled up in a chair to read. When Brian came in from the study, they brought Justin's PPG sketches down and put them in the SUV.

As they came back in the house Justin was laughing as Brian lamented having to drive the SUV and warned Justin to be careful if he had to drive the Corvette anywhere. Justin's cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and got a puzzled expression on his face before he answered. "Hello Michael." Brian glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. "Hi Justin. Thanks for answering; I know I've behaved badly. Ben and my mother have been on my case. I just got off the phone with Blake. I wanted to apologize to him as well." Justin rolled his eyes and had to pause for minute to decide just what to reply. "I'm glad you understand that you have no reason to be jealous of me. I'm happy for Brian to have a good friend like you." Brian raised his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head in amazement.

"Brian and I have been best friends for a long time. I know nothing can ever really change that. Ben and I are having a Memorial Day barbeque lunch on Monday. I'm hoping you and Brian can come. Ted and Blake have agreed to come and Emmett too. I want us to have a nice get together and make up for my bad mood on Saturday night." Justin did not want to go to the barbeque and he knew Brian would feel the same. He thought about using the excuse of having to work on his PPG presentation but Michael seemed sincere and Justin really did not want Brian to lose Michael's friendship. "Okay Michael, we'll be there but I am pretty busy painting so I don't know if we will be able to stay very long."

Michael thanked him and Justin quickly disconnected the call as Brian advanced on him. "Sunshine what was that call about and just where will be?"

"Brian, Michael invited us to a barbeque lunch on Monday. It's kind of an apology effort. Ted and Blake have agreed to go. How would it look if I said no?"

"Justin, I don't give a flying fuck how it would look. Michael has acted badly and you need time to work on your painting. I am going to call him tomorrow and tell him we are too busy this weekend to come to his stupid ass barbeque." The blonde got his determined look. "You are free to cancel if you want but I am going to that barbeque whether you go or not."

Justin could tell that Brian was counting to 10 in his head and fought hard not to smile. "Sometimes Sunshine you can be quite annoying. I am going to bed."

Justin made sure to lock up and set the alarm before he went upstairs and did his best to improve Brian's mood.

To continue his effort of keeping Brian in a good mood, Justin woke up early and joined Brian in the shower for a morning fuck. He even came downstairs and had breakfast with Brian. By the time they kissed good bye; Brian had agreed to attend Michael's Memorial Day barbeque. Once Brian was out the door Justin smiled, pleased with himself for a job well done.

Justin spent the morning painting in his studio. Happy with the progress he made, Justin headed downstairs around lunch time. He could hear vacuums running so he knew the cleaning service staff was still hard at work. Alice had vases lined up on the kitchen counter and was busy arranging flowers. Justin could see Charlie outside sweeping the patio so he knew cleaning was going on outside as well. He made himself a sandwich and chatted with Alice. When Justin was finished eating he headed upstairs to change his clothes. Alice gave him the guest room flowers to take upstairs.

Justin changed in his "Brian selected" clothing. He did a final check on the guest room before going downstairs. The cleaners had left so Justin walked through the rooms on the first floor to be sure everything looked perfect. He knew that Brian would be unhappy if the house didn't look good for their guests. Justin felt a little silly for being concerned but Brown Athletics was a very important client for Kinnetik. This was also the first time they had overnight guests that were not family or close friends.

After his inspection tour Justin went out to the kitchen to check with Alice and see how he could help. Justin took the 2 leaves out of the dining room table and then set it for dinner.

Brian called to say the Brown's private jet had landed at the county airport and they should be at the house in about half an hour. Brian brought them in the front door and Justin came out of the parlor to welcome them. Justin had his country club manners on full display. He gave Donna Brown a hug & a kiss on the cheek and was surprised when Leo pulled him into a hug and said how happy they were to see him again. Brian gave him a hello kiss.

Justin & Brian grabbed the luggage and led the Browns up to the guest room. They left them to settle in and went back down to the parlor. Brian poured some Beam for each of them. He handed Justin his glass and observed. "This is very weird having people stay here." Justin smiled. "It does seem strange. We've had family stay and Molly and her college friends but the Browns are out first "grown up" guests." They both smiled and took a slip of their drinks.

Donna Brown came into the Parlor just ahead of Leo. "Justin, that painting in our room is amazing. Is that going to be in your next show?" Brian smirked at Justin who smiled at Donna. "I'm glad you like it. I haven't decided yet if it will be in the show or not. I was waiting to see what you thought of it."

Leo spoke up. "Donna LOVES it! She has been upstairs looking at it from different angles, turning lights on and off and kind of raving about how special the painting is. I don't want to insult you but if you are going to sell it please let me buy it now."

Justin looked very pleased. "Well you have convinced me not to sell it." Both Donna and Leo looked very confused before Justin continued. "I painted it as a gift for you. I hung it in your room to see if you liked it. I didn't want you to feel you had to accept it if you didn't like it."

Donna came over to him and gave him a bear hug. "Oh my god, how could you ever think I wouldn't love it? You know Leo and I are two of your biggest fans. Everyone that comes into Leo's office comments on the paintings he bought at your last Chicago show. I still haven't completely forgiven him for keeping them in his office instead of our house."

Leo came over and put his hand on Justin's shoulder. "That is so generous of you but I really would be happy to buy the painting. Donna adores it." Brian had a huge smile on his face. He was always pleased when anyone recognized his partner's talent and making this important customer happy was a bonus. "Leo, I told Justin he should just give you and Donna the painting as a gift but he still sometimes doubts how brilliant an artist he is. We are both happy to give you the painting, even before you sign your contract extension."

Leo laughed. "Lucky for you I was already going to sign that extension. I would be an idiot to leave Kinnetik." Donna finally released Justin from the hug but kept her arm around his waist. "Brian you should raise your rates now that Leo has let you know how much he values Kinnetik advertising."

Leo managed to assume a shocked expression before all four people laughed. Donna was still expressing her gratitude for the gift when Alice came into the room with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Brian opened some wine and easy conversation flowed.

Justin and Brian took their guests on a quick tour of the first floor. Brian invited Leo to join him in the home gym the next morning. By the time Alice came to tell them dinner was ready, Brian and Justin were both feeling much more relaxed about their house guests.

After dinner and post dinner conversation Justin and Brian were finally alone in their bedroom. Brian sank down on the bed. "Wow! That was one fucking long evening. I never thought I would say this but I am too exhausted to fuck." Justin laughed and sat down beside him. "This is a good experience for us. Now we know we really are not equipped to entertain overnight guests." Both men laughed. They undressed, got into bed and unusual for them they went right to sleep.

The next morning Brian and Leo met in the home gym for a workout. Justin was lying in bed reading an art magazine when Brian came through the bedroom door, full of endorphins from exercising. Brian walked over to the bed picked up a giggling Justin and carried him into the bathroom. Their spirited shower sex more than made up for the night before.

As they walked down the stairs Justin was surprised when Brian took his hand. Once they were downstairs Brian gave Justin a quick kiss before heading to the study. Justin went to the kitchen. Brian had started the coffee maker after his workout. Leo Brown sat at the kitchen bar drinking a cup of coffee. "Good morning Justin. I helped myself to coffee, hope that is Okay."

Justin filled a mug with coffee and smiled. "Good morning Leo, it's perfect that you helped yourself. Do you think that Donna will be down soon?" "I expect she'll be down in about 15 or 20 minutes."

The two men chatted about the house and the great view of the pond from the kitchen-family room area. Brian came into the kitchen. "Nothing urgent in my emails. Everything should be ready for our meeting."

The three of them decided on scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. Justin lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil filled the pan with bacon and put it in the oven. Meanwhile Brian had gotten out the eggs and cracked them into a mixing bowl. He whisked them and added a little half and half. Justin split some English muffins and arranged those on another cookie sheets while Brian set the kitchen table.

Donna Brown came into the kitchen and Brian poured her some coffee. "Thanks Brian. Can I help with breakfast?" Brian shook his head. "Thanks but Justin and I have it covered. You and Leo should sit down and relax."

Leo came over and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. "These two seem to operate as a well-oiled machine. I have enjoyed watching them, it was pretty impressive."

Brian poured the eggs into a frying pan and Justin stuck the muffin pan in the second oven. Justin took a pitcher of orange juice out of the refrigerator and put it on the kitchen table with some banana nut muffins.. "Alice squeezed this juice yesterday and baked these muffins, help yourselves."

Justin took the bacon & English muffins out of the oven, buttered the muffins and put both things on plates. Brian emptied the pan of scrambled eggs into a bowl and breakfast was ready.

The four of them talked easily as they enjoyed breakfast. Just as they were finishing Alice arrived. "Good morning everyone. Looks like the boys did a good job with breakfast." Leo laughed at her description of Brian & Justin. "Yes Mrs Simpson, they took excellent care of us this morning. I even discovered that Brian can actually cook, an unknown talent."

Alice came over and started to clear the dirty dishes off the table. "Mrs Brown, if you or Mr Brown need anything pressed for this evening bring it downstairs before you go."

Donna shook her head. "I was going to ask if I could borrow an iron. You don't need to worry about doing our ironing." Alice smiled. "Please don't worry about me bring overworked. Housekeeper is almost an honorary title when you work for these two. My schedule is wide open today. I am happy to press your clothes. If you need anything washed out I can do that as well." "I appreciate it. I'll bring down what we need ironed before Justin and I leave."

Leo and Brian were gathering what they needed for their meeting at Kinnetik when the doorbell rang. Justin answered, a young man was standing on the front stoop. "Good morning Justin. I just wanted to let you know I am here whenever you are ready to leave."

"Good morning Marty, glad to see you. I guess you are done classes for the summer." Marty breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. "My last exam was yesterday. So when Louie told me you needed a car today I jumped right on it." Justin told him they would be out soon.

When he got back to the kitchen Brian gave him a quick kiss goodbye and left with Leo. "Alice, Marty is our driver." Alice nodded. "I'll make him a sandwich with some of the left over prime rib; put a couple of these banana muffins in, along with some chips, an apple and a couple bottles of water."

Justin noticed that Donna looked a little confused. "Marty is a college student working on his MBA at Pitt. During his school breaks he works for his uncle who owns the limo company we always use. He's one of our favorite drivers and Alice has kind of adopted him."

A few minutes later Justin & Donna were getting on the town car and on their way to the Carnegie-Mellon University. Marty was delighted with his delivered lunch.

Justin and Donna spent a leisurely few hours touring the museum. After their museum visit, the limo delivered them to the base of the _Duquesne Incline_ which they rode to the top of Mount Washington. Donna was thrilled by the view as the Incline made its way up the side of the hill, the car adjusting to stay horizontal during its rise. At the top they strolled down the street to _Le Mont_ to meet Brian and Leo for lunch. The meetings at Kinnetik had gone very well so both men were in a good mood.

Leo had been at the restaurant before with Brian but this was Donna's first time. The clear day allowed an unobstructed view of Pittsburgh below.

After lunch Brian and Leo headed back to Kinnetik; Justin and Donna were picked up in front of the restaurant. Justin settled back in the seat. "Always great food at _Le Mont_. It is one of our favorite restaurants. We are headed to the Bloom Gallery now; it's the nicest gallery in the city. Sidney and his wife have owned it for years. His wife passed away a little over a year ago. They have a current show with some work from students at PIFA. It should be interesting."

Marty dropped them off in front of the gallery. Once they were inside Justin asked the person on duty at the front desk to let Sidney know Justin Taylor had stopped by. Justin and Donna were strolling thru the first exhibit when Sidney joined them.

He grabbed Justin in a hug. "Justin! It has been a while since you have graced us with your presence. You are looking wonderful as always." "Sidney, this is a friend of Brian and mine, Donna Brown. Her husband is one of Kinnetik's biggest clients and they are staying with us for a few days. I wanted her to see the best gallery in Pittsburgh and I've wanted to see the student exhibits."

Sidney shook Donna's hand and told her it was nice to meet her. He guided them over to the student exhibits and started to explain them. Justin glanced around the gallery and was surprised to see some dust in the corners. He felt the exhibits could have been placed better and there were a few burned out light bulbs. Justin knew that Norma Bloom had handled the business end of the business and he felt sorry that Sidney and the gallery obviously missed her.

Sidney moved them into the next room where there was an exhibit of a local artist's camera work. She specialized in flower photos that she manipulated with software to give them a surreal look. Donna was fascinated with the images and Justin found them interesting but he also noticed the wall paint touchups that didn't quite match and the too shinny floor finish which distracted the eye away from the photographs.

Sidney noticed Justin looking around. Donna moved away from them fascinated by the artist's work. "Justin, I can help notice that you can tell that the gallery is not up to Norma's standards." Justin felt sorry for Sidney and was annoyed at himself for being so obvious. "Sidney I know it must be hard for you, missing Norma so much and having to do everything by yourself."

Sidney's eyes filled with unshed tears. "So hard! We complemented each other so well. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep the gallery open. My children have no interest and I am just not making enough money to hire a really good manager. It is really kind of a catch 22, no chance of turning things around without a top flight manager and with things the way they are no money to hire that manager."

Justin felt really bad but he couldn't really think of anything useful to say so he just gave Sidney another hug. Donna had found a couple things she was interested in buying so Sidney took them back to the front desk to transact business.

On the way back to Kinnetik Justin kept thinking about Sidney Bloom and how sad it would be if he closed the gallery. Sad for Sidney himself but also sad for Pittsburgh to lose a first rate art gallery.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

Chapter 10

Marty pulled into the driveway and quickly got out to open the door for Donna Brown. Justin got out his side, a $100 bill for Marty's tip in his hand; he came around to shake Marty's hand. "Justin, I am taking you all back to Kinnetik. Someone else will bring you back after the party."

"Louie sure is working you hard your first day back. Turn off the car and come on in the house. Alice can feed you and you can watch a movie or play a video game in the media room until we are ready to leave." Marty tried to protest but Justin opened the driver door, shut off the car and pocketed the keys. "Now you have nowhere else to go, so come on in."

Justin and Donna sat out by the pool, drinking iced tea & chatting, until Brian & Leo arrived back to the house. All four went upstairs to change for the Kinnetik cocktail party.

When they arrived at Kinnetik, Justin left the Browns in Brian's care and went to Ted's office. Ted looked up from his computer when Justin gave a quick knock and walked into the office. "Hi Justin, did Brian send you to find me?" Justin smiled. "Ted you should know me better than to think I would be Brian's messenger." Both men laughed.

"Actually Ted I need talk with you about a possible business deal. I took Donna Brown to Sidney Bloom's Gallery today. He appears to be having a difficult time running the gallery without Norma. I would hate to see that gallery close so I would like to buy a controlling interest from Sidney. I think he would like to stay involved but not have the pressure of running it on his own. I haven't even mentioned this to Brian. I'm hoping you could do some research and see if Tay-Kin Art can afford to buy a share of the gallery."

Ted looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll be honest and say I have no idea what art galleries cost but I'm sure I can find out. It will take me a few days to give you any kind of definite information." Justin smiled. "No huge rush. I appreciate it."

They walked together down to the cafeteria which Emmett and his staff had transformed into a tropic paradise. Wait staff in flowered shirts were circulating with finger food and drinks. The room was starting to fill up with employees, their guests and customers. Justin saw Brian who was talking with Cynthia and the owner of Harkins Tires.

Justin started a walk through the room speaking to people he knew and introducing himself to those he didn't recognize. He was chatting with Donna and Leo when he saw his mother & Tucker arrive. Jennifer walked over to her son who introduced her to the Browns.

A few minutes later Brian joined the group. He shook Tucker's hand and gave Jennifer a kiss on the cheek. "Mother Taylor, you are looking even more lovely than usual. Most people would guess you to be Justin's sister not his mother." Jennifer laughed. "No wonder you are my favorite son-in law." Brian smirked and moved on to greet another new arrival. Justin excused himself to talk with someone from the art department.

Donna turned to Jennifer. "Do you work for Kinnetik Jennifer?" Jennifer smiled. "No I have a real estate firm which has a property management department. We manage this building and a few others that Brian and Justin own."

Donna felt her next question might be a little rude but she couldn't resist asking it. "Do you really think of Brian as your son in law?" "Truthfully after all these years and all the thing we have all gone through I really think of Brian more as another son." She and Tucker moved off to sample the buffet.

When the time came for Brian to say a few words to the group he insisted on a very embarrassed Justin standing beside him. Justin was sure his face must have looked like a ripe tomato when Brian said that Justin's constant support and encouragement were in large measure responsible for Brian's & Kinnetik's success. Jennifer, a very proud mother, wiped tears from her eyes. Brian was aware that there were some customers who preferred that he not push his homosexuality in their faces. Being Brian he really didn't care and was pleased his success meant even if someone left Kinnetik because he was gay, there would be other customers to replace them,

Immediately after Brian's remarks Donna & Leo Brown made a point of coming over and giving both men hugs showing their full support.

By 10:30PM the limo was taking the foursome back to Washington Township. The next morning breakfast was waffles and by 10:30AM Brian was driving the Browns back to the airport. By the time he got back home Justin was painting in the studio. Brian spent the afternoon lounging on the daybed in the studio while smoking a few joints. Justin worked on his painting and told Brian about his tentative plans for Bloom Gallery. Justin's painting was interrupted for a few lovemaking sessions so all in all it was an enjoyable day at home for the Taylor-Kinney household.

On Saturday morning Emmett was having breakfast at the diner and regaling Debbie with a recap of the Kinnetik party. As he was describing how beautiful Jennifer looked, Michael walked into the diner and came over to his booth. Michael was surprised that Jennifer was invited to the party. He interrupted Emmett's flowery description. "Why was Jennifer at the Kinnetik party? It was supposed to be just Brian's employees and his customers." Emmett wanted to be careful in his reply and not put himself in the middle of the whole Michael versus Justin dynamic with Brian as the prize. "Jennifer's firm manages the Kinnetik building so she is a business associate. Even if she isn't actually an employee or a customer."

Michael looked confused. "What do you mean she manages the building? I thought Cynthia was the office manager. What does Jennifer have to do with Kinnetik, is Justin trying to force out Cynthia after all these years?"

"Honey you really need to a take a chill pill. I have no clue why you see Justin as the villain in Brian's life. Jennifer's real estate company does property management. They do things like collect rent and coordinate maintenance repairs and keep records for Teddy to use. It has nothing to do with Cynthia's job." "I still don't understand why Brian needs someone to do those things. There is no rent to collect at Kinnetik and he could have someone in the office arrange repairs..."

"Michael honey, I plan parties. I can't really explain property management or why Jennifer does it for the Kinnetik building. That is really Brian's business and I for one would never question him about how he conducts his business."

Debbie had been listening to the exchange. "Emmett is right Michael; it is Brian's business and not really any of our concern." "Ma, Brian is my best friend. I don't want to see him get taken advantage of." Emmett rolled his eyes and Debbie just walked away.

Michael slid into the both with Emmett and they chatted about things other than Brian & Justin while they ate their breakfast. Emmett left feeling kind of apprehensive about the Monday Barbeque. He could not understand Michael's continuing fixation with Brian.

On Monday Brian & Justin were a little late getting to the barbeque at Michael & Ben's. When they walked into the back yard Justin could feel Brian stiffen and knew without looking that his partner had a frown on his face. The fairly large yard was crowded with people, most of whom were strangers to Brian & Justin. Michael involved in a conversation on the far side of the yard gave them a quick wave. Justin spotted Emmett, Ted and Blake sitting at a table and led Brian over to them. Along the way they snagged a couple of beers out of a cooler.

Brian looked around the yard. "This whole place is full of heteros and stepford fags, it's disgusting!" Ted took a swallow of his coke. "I see you got the Novotny welcome wave. We've been here for about 20 minutes and so far that has been our only interaction with Michael."

Brian put down his beer. "Let's get the fuck out of here now". Justin was rubbing Brian's back and trying to keep him from exploding. "Bri, its fine. Michael is busy with other guests. I'm sure he'll be over to visit with us."

A couple who had been talking with Michael came across the yard towards them. Justin could feel Brian tense up and kept rubbing his back and hoping it was comforting and calming his partner.

"Hi I'm Rob and this is my wife Winnie. We know Ben from the University, we work there with him. I teach business management and Winnie works in the Dean's office."

His wife smiled at Justin. "Justin, Michael was telling us about you. It seems you've know each other for a long time. He told us how his mother took you in when your parents disowned you and about your bashing. He said even with the problems you have with your hand; you moved to New York to try and break into the art world. Michael said you came back to Pittsburgh a few months ago and Brian took you to live with him. I'm not sure if you would qualify but I wanted to let you know that we are about to post a position for a teaching assistant for the art department. Here is my business card; if you are interested send me an email and I'll send you info on the position. It sounds like you are overdue for some good things to happen in your life."

Justin didn't know what to say to this obviously sincere woman. He was more concerned that Brian might actually have a stroke. Ted & Blake were just embarrassed and unsure what to say.

Emmett was quickest to recover. "Honey did Michael happen to mention Justin's last name?" Winnie was aware that something was wrong but had no idea what it was and shook her head in reply.

Emmett smiled at her. "His name is Justin Taylor, if you know anything about art or even if you read the Sunday paper that name may sound familiar."

Rob & Winnie both recognized the name and were both horribly embarrassed. Rob finally spoke. "I'm so sorry, we must have misunderstood Michael. Of course we have heard of you. We apologize for suggesting you might need a job, we really were just trying to help."

Justin smiled; he knew that they had been unwittingly dragged by Michael into some ridiculous scheme. "I do understand that and I know you were just trying to be kind. It's not a problem."

Rob trying to switch the conversation to safer ground turned to Brian. "Michael told me that you work in advertising. Which firm do you work for?" Justin leaned into Brian trying to calm him.

Brian also realized that Rob & Winnie were innocent victims. "I work at Kinnetik." Rob got a huge smile. "That must be exciting. I often talk about Kinnetik in my classes. A relatively new arrival on the advertising scene but so successful; Brian Kinney is a genius with his ad campaigns, it must be fascinating to work with…"

As soon as Rob said "Brian Kinney" he had a sinking feeling that somehow again he had stuck his foot in his mouth. "Your last name is Kinney, right?"

To Justin's surprise Brian laughed. Don't worry about it. We understand where the confusion originated. It's actually kind of funny."

Brian noticed that Michael was actually making his way towards them with a concerned look on his face. Emmett noticed Michael as well, part of him wanted to tackle him before he could reach them. He glanced at Ted & Blake. He saw Blake put his arm through Ted's and just slightly shake his head.

Brian spoke a little louder so Michael could hear him. "I would be glad to talk to you sometime if you had questions about Kinnetik and how we operate, maybe even come speak to a class or two if you wanted. You shouldn't blame Mikey for kind of leading you astray. I've known Mikey for years and if it isn't written in a comic book he doesn't know anything about it."

Michael had come up behind Rob & Winnie. "Brian, I do read things besides comic books" "Really? It is always fascinating to learn new things about someone you've known for such a long time. Too bad you couldn't have started all this reading when we were in high school. It would have saved me from writing all your book reports."

Rob & Winnie not really sure just what was going on could sense the tension in the group and decided to just walk away. Michael started to say something but Brian looked over his head and paid no attention.

Brian turned to Justin. "Sunshine I would like to go home." Justin smiled and took Brian's hand as they walked toward the exit. Emmett, Ted & Blake followed behind. Ben broke off from the group he was talking with and intercepted the group before they left the back yard. "Guys are you leaving; you haven't even had anything to eat." He saw Michael standing by himself looking very unhappy. "What's wrong?"

Brian looked at him. "Unfortunately you are married to a fucking evil asshole. You should go talk with your friends Rob & Winnie. I think they are pretty upset and embarrassed."

Ben started to say something else but all five men just continued on their way to their cars.

When they got to the Corvette Justin asked Brian to let him drive. "I'll drive Sunshine." Justin was still concerned about Brian. "Well let's go over to the loft for a little while before we head home." Brian agreed.

Emmett couldn't wait to get in his car and get home. He felt like he needed a good stiff drink to get over the whole scene. He was amazed that Brian stayed as calm as he did.

Ted & Blake also quickly headed for home. Neither of them could understand what Michael was thinking. He had created an uncomfortable situation not only for his oldest friends but also for Ben's innocent co-workers.

Brian stopped at their favorite Thai take-out place on the way to the loft. Once they got to the loft they opened a bottle of wine and sat down to eat. Justin looked across the table. "Brian are you Okay?"

"You know Sunshine I am. It was all kind of surreal. That poor hetero couple; she just keeps digging herself deeper in the Michael trap until she knows there is no way out. Than Mr Hetero tries the whole rescue thing with a change of subject and BAM he steps right on another Mikey landmine." Both men started to laugh; the whole situation was just so ridiculous.

"Of course Brian you know you may find yourself standing in front of a college class talking about how to succeed in advertising." Brian just shook his head. "I couldn't help myself; the two of them just looked so fucking sad and embarrassed. You don't think he will actually call me do you? That would really suck and not in a good way."

They were both laughing when Brian's cell rang. He took a quick look at the caller screen before answering. "Hello Theodore." He listened for a few minutes and started laughing again. "Both Justin and I are doing fine. We stopped for Thai and came to the loft to eat. The whole Michael thing is just too stupid to stay upset about. Thanks for calling; I'll see you tomorrow."

After they finished eating and cleaned up; Brian drove them home. They both occasionally burst out in laughter every time they thought of poor Rob & Winnie.

When Brian got to the office on Tuesday he already had a message from Michael and 2 emails. He let Carole know that he was not in for any calls or visits from Michael or Debbie. Justin showed up later in the day to retrieve his mural sketches from the art department. He told Brian he hadn't had any calls from Michael or Debbie but Emmett told him Michael had called him to "explain the confusion" with Rob & Winnie. Emmett told Justin he listened to Michael's explanation before telling him he should seek counseling.

Wednesday afternoon was Justin's appointment to present his mural ideas to the PPG Place selection committee. He was the last of the four artists to present. Justin arrived early in his Brian selected clothes. He got access to the room and set up his sketches and sample painting. He had a PowerPoint of some of his other work loaded onto his laptop; he got the laptop and projector connected and paid a trip to the men's room before the committee arrived.

The committee was comprised of 12 people, representatives of PPG, the management company for the office complex, the architect for the rehab project and two art critics. Justin felt his presentation went well. When it was over they asked him to wait outside the conference room for a few moments. When they called him back in 15 minutes later it was to tell him that they had chosen him to paint the murals. He gave them his lawyer's contact info so they could forward the necessary paperwork to him. They tried to get him to leave his sketches and painting but he refused. He said they could have those once the paperwork was approved by his attorney and signed by all parties. Justin felt they made the mistake that many people did in thinking he looked too young and innocent to be savvy about business. He actually enjoyed when people made that mistake and used it to his advantage.

When Brian returned from a meeting he found Justin waiting in his office at Kinnetik. "Sunshine, how did the presentation go?" Justin shrugged his shoulders. "It seemed to go fine."

Brian frowned. "Did they tell you when they would announce their decision?" "They indicated they would make their choice pretty quickly."

Brian moved across the room and gave Justin a hug. "Ted says he has some preliminary information about your plans for the Bloom Gallery. Do you want him to come over here and give us an update?"

Justin shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. Brian looked so concerned and so unsure of what to say or do it was all Justin could do to not burst out laughing. "Not today. I think I would rather just go out and get an early dinner, can you leave soon?"

Brian walked over to his desk to shut down his laptop. "I can go right now Sunshine. Do you have any restaurant in mind?" "No I don't really care where we go. As long as they serve champagne so we can celebrate me being chosen to paint the murals for the PPG Place lobbies."

Brian looked up quickly at Justin's full blown sunshine smile. "You little twat! You couldn't just tell me, we had to play this silly game!" He hurried over, wrapped his partner in his arms and gave his a congratulations kiss.

Justin looked up into Brian's eyes. "You sooooooo adore me."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad**

Post 513, Justin spent 18 months in NYC before coming back to Pittsburgh 6 months ago. Justin & Brian's relationship remained intact during the NYC sojourn. I do not own the characters just the situations.

Chapter 11

Debbie and Carl were just finishing dinner on Wednesday night when Michael came in the front door carrying a suitcase. Debbie went into the Living Room and was surprised to see her son. "Michael what are you doing here and what's with the suitcase?"

"Ben and I have been arguing for days. I thought it might be a good idea to spend some time apart so I thought I'd stay here." Debbie gave her son a stern look and Michael quickly looked away. "Okay so Ben suggested we needed to take a break."

"What are you two arguing about?" Michael frowned but knew his mother would give him no peace until he confided in her. "Well at our barbeque on Monday two of Ben's friends misunderstood something I told them about Justin. They went over to talk to him and the little twink blew the whole thing out of proportion and Ben's friends got embarrassed. Ben blames me and Brian won't take my calls or answer my emails."

Carl came in from the kitchen after loading the dishwasher. "Michael I find it a little unbelievable that Justin blew something out of proportion and embarrassed people he had just met. That really doesn't sound like something he would do."

"Not that this is any of your business but I don't understand why everything thinks that Justin can do no wrong. He is nothing but a sneaky little twink that has somehow wormed his way into Brian's life."

Debbie smacked her son on the side of his head. "Listen you little shit! EVERTHING that happens in MY house is Carl's business. You have to get over this silly jealousy of Justin; you are just hurting yourself."

Michael picked up his suitcase and started up the stairs. "I'm really tired. I am going to bed."

Debbie looked over at Carl who shrugged and shook his head. He sat in his recliner and turned on the TV. Debbie thought about calling Ben to get his side of the story but decided she needed to stay out of this conflict.

When Brian got into the office on Thursday morning he called Ted to come to his office. Ted arrived quickly. Brian motioned for him to sit in a chair by his desk.

"Ted, I know Justin is coming in later this morning to talk about the Bloom Gallery. I want you to understand that whatever Justin wants to do we, meaning you, have to find a way to make that happen. You can't touch Gus's trust fund and no mortgages on the house but everything else is on the table. There is no need for you to share with Justin how the deal will be financed,"

Ted frowned. "Brian, you know Justin is not stupid and he wants to do this on his own."

"Theodore I am well aware that Justin is far from an idiot but he depends on you for financial advice. Therefore you WILL make sure the financing is available."

Ted couldn't stop a quick chuckle but it died quickly on his lips at the "Brian look" coming his way. "Brian from what my research has shown we should have no trouble accomplishing what Justin wants to do without any extraordinary measures."

"Theodore you can go. Be glad you are not packing up your desk, I expect my CFO to be upfront with me at all times."

Ted left the office with a smile on his face. He found Brian and Justin pretty interesting to observe. Both men tried very hard to make sure their partner was protected and were often at cross purposes without realizing it. Ted thought life might be easier if they were just honest with each other but that did not appear to be their style.

When Justin arrived later, the three men met in a conference room. Ted handed out packets of information to Justin & Brian. "The figures that I have here are really preliminary. I need to see Profit & Loss statements for the gallery before we come up with hard numbers. I believe the amounts I am suggesting here are on the high side. I couldn't find any building permits for the gallery building so I believe it will need a complete overhaul. It is in a great location, has three 2 bedroom apartments on the second floor and 12 parking spots behind the building. I have also included an estimated value for the building."

Brian and Justin were looking through the information packet as Ted talked. He had done his usual excellent job in providing all the relevant facts.

Ted continued. "My suggestion would be to have KT Properties buy the real estate outright. Of course we need Jennifer and her contractor to go through the building and let us know what it is going to take to get the building in shape. Tay-Kin Art can acquire 60% of the gallery business. We will have to use some of that line of credit but between the PPG murals and Justin's San Francisco show in August we should be able to get that paid down pretty quickly."

Brian and Justin had a few questions before deciding that Justin should approach Sidney Bloom and see if he was interested in pursuing the sale. Justin called Sidney, who was available for lunch.

Justin was sitting at a table when Sidney came into the restaurant. "Justin, this is a nice treat, I hardly ever go out for lunch. Thanks for the invitation."

Once greetings were out of the way, they ordered lunch and each sipped a glass of wine. "Sidney I have a proposal to make to you. I'm not sure if it something you would even consider but there's no way to find out except to dive right in."

Sidney sat back in his chair and smiled. "I wasn't sure I dropped enough hints last week but now I am hoping I did."

Justin smiled back at him. "I had no idea I was so easy to play. I am interested in buying a controlling interest in the gallery. I would very much like you to stay involved. I met with my accountant this morning and he recommends us buying the building outright. Of course we need some information from your accountant but I'm prepared to make an offer on 60% of the gallery business."

"I would like to stay involved in the gallery, without having to worry about the business end of things. I'm afraid the building has been somewhat neglected. Only one of the apartments is rented and that is on a month to month lease. I'm not selling because I need the money, I just felt you would keep the gallery open and vital. After all the years Norma and I put into the gallery I would hate to see it close. My children have no interest in the business, although they do own 10%. I know that you will revitalize the business and am looking forward to being part of that."

Justin took Sidney's hand. "I believe that we will do great things for the art scene in Pittsburgh together and we'll have some fun doing it."

Justin and Sidney chatted over lunch about plans for the gallery, what information Sidney's accountant needed to send to Ted and when Jennifer and her contractor could tour the building. By the time lunch was over all the necessary plans had been made.

Later that afternoon Claire Kinney's sons, John & Peter Townsend, got off the school bus. That morning for breakfast they each had a slice of toast with the last of the jelly and a small glass of orange juice.

John has used the last 4 slices of bread to make peanut butter sandwiches for their school lunches. The scrapping from the peanut butter jar had been enough for a thin coating on each sandwich. Last night for dinner John has boiled some elbow macaroni, put in the last can of tuna and some ketchup. Claire and her boyfriend had been out last night and this morning their bedroom door was closed when the boys left for school.

John had left his mother a note asking her to either buy some groceries or leave him some money to buy something for his & Peter's dinner. As Claire's drug use increased her interest in her sons' welfare decreased to a pretty alarming level.

The house was quiet when the boys entered. John went to the kitchen and found his note undisturbed in the counter. Just to be sure he opened the food cupboard which was still empty. Peter has followed him. "Mom didn't leave any money?"

John shook his head. "It appears the bitch hasn't even been downstairs, the note is just where I left it. I'm going up to their room and get some money from her or Paul."

John ran upstairs and opened the door to the bedroom his mother and her boyfriend used. Paul was laying half out of the bed, his head in a puddle of vomit and his lifeless eyes staring at John. John went over to his mother and could see that she was still breathing.

Peter called to him from downstairs. "Stay down there Peter. I'll be right down." His mother's cell phone was on the night table but when he picked it up and tried to turn it on he realized it needed to be charged.

He shut the bedroom door so Peter would not see inside if he came upstairs. John went downstairs and took his brother's hand. "Come out to the kitchen. Mom & Paul are sick. I think they ODed. We have to call an ambulance."

A wide eyed Peter went with his brother to the kitchen phone but there was no dial tone. Apparently the bill hadn't been paid and the service cut off. A 14 year old John Townsend was trying very hard to keep himself calm. Peter had started to cry.

"Come on Peter. We'll got next door and use their phone. Everything will be Okay once the ambulance gets here."

Still holding hands, Peter and John ran next door. John pushed the doorbell and Mrs Kerns answered the door.

Marge Kerns had a little as possible to do with her next door neighbors. Paul Clarke had been a problem ever since he moved in and things had gotten more troublesome since Claire and her sons moved in. Paul and Claire often had screaming matches and lately the boys could be heard loudly complaining to their mother about lack of money, food or something Paul had done or said.

"What do you want boys?" John spoke up. "We need to call an ambulance and our phone doesn't work. "

Marge opened the door for the boys to come in. "Why do you need an ambulance?" John didn't want to mention Paul's death in front of Peter. "My Mom and Paul are sick. I think maybe they took an overdose of drugs. I couldn't wake them. Paul threw up of the floor."

Marge's husband Bill came out of the kitchen, cordless phone in hand. He quickly dialed 911 and explained the situation to the operator.

Tears were running down Peter's face and now he started to tremble. "John, I think I going to get sick." Marge Kerns put her arm around his shoulders. "You come with me honey; the powder room is just down the hall."

Once Peter was out of the room. John turned to Mr Kerns. "Paul is dead. He's hanging out of bed with his head in a puddle of vomit and his eyes are wide open. My mother is still breathing but it seems really shallow. I didn't want to say anything in front of Peter. Could he stay here while I go back next door."

Bill frowned but called to his wife. "Marge, you keep Peter here. John and I are going next door to meet the ambulance."

They could hear the sirens as soon as they went outside. A police car arrived first and Bill Kerns explained what John had told him. The two policemen went inside and a few moments later an ambulance arrived. The EMT's hurried inside, Bill & John followed them into the house.

Bill & John waited in the living room until one of the policemen came downstairs. He came over to them. "Can you let me know who you are?"

John spoke first. "I'm John Townsend. My mother is the woman in bed upstairs. The dead man is her boyfriend, Paul Clarke. This house belongs to him. He and my mother take drugs all the time. This morning I left a note asking my mother to leave us some money for food. My brother and I just got off the school bus and when there was no money, I went upstairs and found them." John was starting to get upset as he realized the seriousness of the situation.

Bill Kerns sat on the couch and pulled John down beside him. "I live next door. I'm Bill Kerns, John & Peter came over to use our phone. I'm the one who called 911. We left Peter next door with my wife. He was really upset."

The second policeman came downstairs. They asked some questions about how long John had been home, when was the last time he had actually talked with his mother and they let John know that the EMT's had stabilized Claire and were going to take her to Allegheny General Hospital since the local hospital didn't have detox facilities.

The police looked around and were pretty shocked by the condition of the house. They asked John if he had any family they could call. He gave them Joan's phone number but said that his grandmother was pretty old.

The police said they were going to have to contact Family Services to work out where John & Peter could stay. Bill Kerns said the boys could stay next door until someone came for them.

When Bill & John got back next door; Marge had Peter in the kitchen eating a ham sandwich and drinking a glass of milk. She had John sit down while she made him the same thing to eat.

The Pittsburgh Police were notified and they went, with a social worker, to Joan Kinney's house. An unsteady Joan answered the door and they asked if they could come in. Joan led them to the living room. She sat in her chair. A half full glass and an open bottle of vodka were on the table beside the chair. The police looked at the social worker and nodded toward the table. She had already noticed.

The police explained about Claire's condition and where she had been taken. Joan seemed strangely unconcerned about her daughter's situation. The social worker asked her if she would be willing to take custody of John & Peter but Joan told her she was too old and in poor health. She certainly could not cope with two teenage boys.

The social worker asked if there was any other family members who might be able to take care of the boys but Joan told her there was no one else. The social worker said that it looked like the boys would have to go into foster care if there was no one willing to accept custody. Joan again appeared unconcerned and said she understood.

Once they were outside the police looked at the social worker. "Well she is about as cold hearted a bitch as I've encountered in a long time."

"She obviously has a drinking problem so I'm not sure we would even be able to leave the boys with her. I guess I'll go down to Mt Lebanon and pick them up. Maybe there is a close friend or someone else who could keep them until their mother can take custody again. They'll have to go into foster care at least temporarily."

She got the information about John and Peter's location from the local police. She knocked on the door which was opened by Bill Kerns. "I'm Kathy Sacks from the Department of Welfare."

Bill led her into the family room where Peter and John sat together on the couch. Kathy introduced herself and told them that she had spoken to their grandmother who was not able to accept custody. She asked them if they had any other family in the area. John answered. "Our Uncle Brian lives in Pittsburgh. He and my mother don't get along. My grandmother hates him. He's gay and lives in a loft near Liberty Avenue. We never see him, he runs an advertising company called Kinnetik." Kathy explained that she would take them to a temporary group home and if their uncle wasn't able to take custody she would find them more permanent housing until their mother got her life back in order and could take custody back. Peter started to cry again but John was able to comfort him. Kathy took them next door to pack their clothes and took them to the group home.

The next morning Kathy checked tax records for Brian Kinney but found no matches for that name in Pittsburgh. She decided to go to Kinnetik and see if she could see Brian there.

Kathy was impressed by the lobby of Kinnetik, she went over to the reception desk. One woman was seated and a very attractive blonde was standing behind her. "Hello. I'm Kathy Sacks from the welfare department. I was hoping I could speak with Brian Kinney."

The blonde spoke to her. "I'm Cynthia Brown, the office manager. Can I help you with something?"

Kathy shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I need to speak to Mr Kinney about his sister and his nephews. It's a personal matter."

"Brian is in a meeting right at the moment. If you have a seat I'll check and see if I can interrupt him"

Cynthia knew that anything that involved Claire was not a good thing. She went into the conference room where one of the account executives was making a presentation and motioned for Brian to come out in the hall.

Cynthia explained the situation to Brian. "Fucking Claire, I wonder what she is up to now. I wonder if she has convinced one of her devil spawn to accuse me of abusing him again! Bring her up to my office and I'd like you to stay as a witness."

Cynthia returned to the lobby and brought Kathy to Brian's office. Brian was standing behind his desk. One guest chair was still in front of the desk but he had moved the other chair to his side of the desk. He greeted Kathy and indicated she take the guest chair in front of his desk.

Cynthia moved to Brian's side of the desk and picked up the pad and pen Brian had placed on his desk.

Kathy sat in her chair and pulled her own pad and pen out of her briefcase. "Thank you for seeing me Mr Kinney. I am here to discuss a personal matter. I'm not sure that you will want Ms Brown to be here."

Brian maintained his patented "no emotion" face. "Please call me Brian. Cynthia and I have known each other for years. She is my friend as well as my employee; I have few secrets from her."

"Okay Brian. Have you spoken with your mother?" Brian did smirk at that. "Luckily I have not spoken to her in quite some time."

"How about your sister, Claire Kinney, have you spoken to her recently?"

"Yes Claire attempted to get me to give her $25,000 to repair the roof on my mother's house. I have reason to believe this was some kind of scam that Claire was attempting."

"Were you aware that your sister and her sons were living with Paul Clarke?"

Brian didn't bother to hide his annoyance. "My sister and I are not close, in fact we do not like each other and disapprove of the choices each other have made in their lives. I did hear from a couple people that Claire was living with a guy who was known for doing drugs. I refused her request for money and did not ask her anything about her life nor did she volunteer any information. I am a busy man and would like to know just why you are here."

"I appreciate you seeing me and don't mean to waste your time. Yesterday your sister and Paul Clarke used some apparently tainted drugs. Mr Clarke died and your sister is in the detox unit at Allegheny General. She is expected to recover. Last night I visited your mother with the Pittsburgh Police. I was hoping she would be able to assume custody for your nephews, John & Peter. Unfortunately she did not feel she could take on that responsibility."

"You must have visited her too early in the evening before she was completely buzzed. I'm can assure you it was not water she was drinking and if you had gone to the kitchen you would have found a bottle of vodka sitting on the counter."

"Actually that bottle was on the table beside her chair. Even if Mrs Kinney had agreed to take the boys I'm not sure the department could allow that. The house appeared to be poorly kept and your mother was clearly intoxicated. The boys are the reason I am here today. They are in a temporary group home. If no family member can assume custody they will have to be placed in permanent foster care, until their mother can show she is able to resume custody. Boys of John & Peter's ages can be difficult to place in foster homes. The boys seem devoted to each other and Peter seems pretty dependent on his brother. I am not at all sure we will be able to keep the boys together in foster homes."

Brian frowned. "You do know that I'm gay, right?" Kathy smiled. 'Yes John told me that when I asked if there was any other family member I could talk to besides his grandmother."

"Did John tell you that the last time I babysat he falsely accused me of molesting him?"

Kathy made a note on her pad. "He did not mention that, was there an investigation?"

Brian shook his head. "No, he admitted he was lying before things went too far. I had been kind of an asshole to him because I was annoyed about looking after him. I think he was just trying to be an asshole back at me."

"Well Brian, the big question is; are you willing to assume custody of your nephews? I have to tell you that there would be a fairly invasive investigation of you before custody was granted. Before you ask that investigation takes place whether people trying for custody are straight or gay."

Brian sat back in his chair and glanced at Cynthia for a moment. He could read the sympathy for his nephews on her face. "I'm afraid I can't answer that question for you without talking to my partner first, Justin is both my business and life partner. I know that word can be confusing."

Kathy nodded. "John indicated that you lived in a loft in the city but I couldn't find any property under your name in the Allegheny tax records. We would, of course, need to do a home inspection to be sure there was room to house the boys adequately."

Cynthia chuckled and Kathy looked puzzled. Brian had a smile on his face as he answered. "Justin and I live in a house in Washington County. We still use the loft on occasion and actually own the building. The ownership is listed under KT Properties, a corporation that Justin & I own jointly. Cynthia was amused because our house has six bedrooms, so plenty of room for 2 nephews if it comes to that."

Kathy smiled. "I understand that you will need to discuss possible custody with your partner. Can I have his last name?"

"His name is Justin Taylor. I should let you know he is 12 years younger than me and we first got together when he was 17. I don't want to start this process without you knowing all the possible issues."

Kathy tried not to look shocked. "Did you frequently date teenagers?" Brian shook his head. "No I was never a chicken hawk. There was something about Justin that was special from the first time we met. I fought against those feelings for a long time before admitting how much I cared about him."

Cynthia spoke for the first time. "I can attest that a lot of Brian's friends were aware of his special feelings for Justin long before Brian admitted it. Also Brian never had to intimidate or coerce anyone into having sex with him. Men of all ages were lined up waiting for the opportunity to be with him. No one ever got through to Brian like Justin did. He may have been young when they met but he was single-minded. Justin was very much the pursuer in the beginning of their relationship."

Brian just laughed. "Well I was pretty hard to resist."

Kathy found herself smiling at his confidence. "Back to the subject of my visit; when do you think you will have an answer for me?"

Brian told her to give her card to Cynthia and that he would have an answer for her no later than tomorrow afternoon.

They shook hands before Kathy & Cynthia left the office. Cynthia offered to give Kathy a list of names and contact info for people she should contact if there was an investigation. Kathy was delighted with the offer and followed Cynthia to her office.

Brain sat at his desk considering the ramifications of having custody of Claire's sons.


End file.
